Nothing Can Break Us
by mush14meyers
Summary: A teenage girl is alone and homeless on New York City streets, barely surviving off stealing. After a bad past that she's tried to block out, she blocks out everyone else with it. Until she meets a newsboy who's determined to find out more about her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies."

Hey guys :D I'm back with another newsies fanfic. So for the people who read the last story I posted, "Story #1" won by a couple votes. I guess it'll work out pretty well, because while I'm posting this one I can write the latest story that I'm working on. Plus I'll be able to update quickly since it's already written. So here's the first chapter. I hope you like it.

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I kept my head pointed to the floor, avoiding eye contact from everyone. I'm not quite sure why I did this. I suppose out of habit. No one noticed me anyway. They never noticed anyone. People rushed through the streets, only thinking about where they had to go. They bumped into you without even a glance, never mind an "excuse me". That was New York City.

The sun disappeared behind the tall buildings, and soon shadows began to cover the city. The streets were lined with outdoor vendors and food stands that were pushed off to the side so people could walk. They began to close up for the night, packing away their products to sell the next day.

The feeling of hunger burned through my stomach, but I stayed discreet and unnoticed. I had to if I wanted to pull this off.

Stopping next to a food stand, I kept a close eye on the owner. I knew him by face but not by name. He was an older man, maybe around 50 or so. He was somewhat on the round side and had a thick mustache over his mouth. I knew from past experience that he wasn't exactly the most alert of people in Manhattan. That's why this was my best bet.

The owner turned his back to me to place his earnings from the day in a small metal box. I stole a glance at one of his workers. The boy, about 20, was packing the unsold food away in a box. This was my chance.

I swiped a small loaf of bread off the tilted stand. However, when I did this I upset the fruit that was leaning against the bread. A few oranges rolled off the table and fell to the floor. Before I could run, the man whirled around.

I was able to dodge under the stand before he saw me. _Man, what's wrong with me today? Usually I can do this without a problem... 1, 2, 3, and I'm gone..._

I slid the loaf of bread into my pocket. Supporting myself on my arms and knees, I crouched under the table and tried to stay as quiet as I could. I watched his feet that were only a few feet away from me. He stood still, knowing that something was up.

Particles of dirt and dust had been collected under the stand throughout the day. I felt my nose start to tingle, but I closed my eyes and tried to hold it in.

No luck. I stifled it as well as I could, but a faint _Achoo!!_ could still be heard over the sounds of the city. The owner picked up the table cloth and looked under. His eyes widened when he saw me, and his gaze went to the loaf of bread sticking out of my pocket.

"Hi there." I said, shooting him a guilty smile. "You little..." he muttered. I darted out from underneath the stand and ran for it. "That's the third time in the past month that little brat's stolen from me!" he yelled. Trying to get out from behind the stand to chase me, he nearly tripped over his worker who was loading boxes.

I disappeared into the crowd and kept running. Not sure how far he was behind me, I didn't slow down. He got a good look at me that time, which meant the staying on the streets wasn't a good idea. I found the nearest ladder attached to a building and began to climb.

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**Point of View Change**

The headlines were awful that day. Boring and useless would have been understatements. It took me forever to sell, and I still couldn't get rid of several of my papes. I trudged into the lodging house after dark. I mumbled a hello to Kloppman, who was sitting at his desk.

Dragging myself up the stairs, I found most of the guys were already in the bunk room. "Tough day, Skitt?" Mush said, looking up from his card game. "Yeah, yeah..." I muttered, collapsing onto my bunk. "Well, well... _someone_ ain't in too good a'mood..." Racetrack commented, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, whats a'matta wit ya?" Jack asked, lifting his head from his sprawled out position on the floor. "I ain't in a bad mood." I grumbled, getting up and walking to the window. I didn't want to talk to the guys if all they were gonna do was bring up my bad day.

I slid the window open and climbed out onto the fire escape. The stars had just started to come out in the darkening sky. Exhausted, I had to be careful not to slip while climbing the rungs on the ladder.

The breeze when I got on the roof was refreshing and cool. It was a nice retreat from the brutally hot summer weather we had been having. I began to walk towards the middle of the roof, but something caught my eye.

A girl was sitting there with her back against the chimney. She was holding a piece of bread in her hand and nibbling on it slowly. The clothes she was wearing consisted of pants and a boy's shirt that was loose on her.

For the most part she was turned away from me, but I could still see a part of her face. My first impression of her was that beneath the dirt smudge on the side of her cheek, she was sort of pretty...

I took a step towards her, wondering who she was. The second she sensed someone behind her, she jumped to her feet. Her light brown eyes widened as she stared at me. "Woah, calm down there...I didn't mean ta scare ya..." I said, taking another step towards her.

As soon as I did this, she stepped back again. "I ain't gonna hoit ya or nuttin'." I said. Still, I kept my ground this time. She gave me a questioning look, as if wondering if she could trust me or not. "Whadda ya doin' up here?" I asked. Still no answer from her. I sighed. "What, ya ain't able to talk or somethin'?"

""Course I can talk..." she replied, eyeing me cautiously. "Then do ya mind tellin' me why you're up here?" I asked. She took another step backwards.

"Skittery, who ya talkin' to?" I heard someone ask. Race appeared at the top of the ladder and I turned to look at him. He shot me a curious look. "Can't ya see the goil standin' right-" I motioned over to where the girl had been standing, but she was gone. "there?" I finished, scratching my head in confusion.

"I think you'se a bit off ya trolley, Skitt." Race said. "I ain't crazy..." I growled, walking passed him towards the ladder. "Aw, and here we goes again wit da bad mood..." He said, shrugging.

I looked down onto the street and saw her running away. Then she disappeared around a corner. _Well, __**she**__ wasn't exactly what I'd call normal..._

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Yeah, so it's kinda short. Just sort of a preview of what's going on to start stuff off. I'll have a new chapter out soon, though.

Thanks for reading, and reviews with your opinions and comments would be great :) _  
_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies."

Hey guys. Sorry about yesterday-- I was planning on updating, but I was so busy with school and a bunch of other crap that I had to get done. Ugh, I cannot wait until summer vacation. 6 more days of class and some finals... then I'm done and I can write every waking minute if I want to.

So this chapter is a bit longer. I hope you guys like it. Still in Skittery's point of view, by the way.

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Over the next few days there hadn't been a trace of the unknown girl I had seen on the roof. And yet, I kept thinking about her. _She was pretty strange... Wonder why she wouldn't even talk to me. That goil was jumpier than me, and I got da nickname "Skittery" for a reason..._

"A'right, boys! C'mon, let's go, let's go. Wake up. Papes to peddle, headline's to hawk!" Kloppman's voice rang out in the bunk room bright and early.

I groaned and rolled over, trying to shut out his voice. "Time for sellin', The presses are rollin'! When ya gotta get up, ya gotta get up!" Kloppman yelled. "What does that even mean?" I muttered to Pie eater, who was getting out of the bunk next to me.

"Who knows." He shrugged. "I stick wid Jack's theory... He thinks Kloppman's a little mad in da head..." he whispered. I let out a laugh and dragged myself out of bed.

After waiting on the circulation line for a while, I bought 60 papes and left to find a selling spot. I wandered the streets, heading towards the street vendors. The crowds were usually pretty big there. People stopping to buy a quick breakfast before work usually liked to grab the morning edition of the paper, too.

I was doing alright with selling, until something else caught everyone's attention. "Thief!" A man yelled, running down the street and pointing. "Thief! That girl stole from me!" Suddenly, someone crashed into me. Hard. They were knocked to the ground.

""Scuse me, miss. I'se real sorry... I said, putting my hand out to help her up. When her eyes met mine I immediately recognized her. It was the girl from the roof.

She looked over her shoulder and saw that the man was gaining on her. She quickly stood up without my help and pushed past me into an alleyway, ducking behind some crates.

The man stopped in front of me and looked in all directions. He put his hands on his knees and leaned over, panting heavily. "Dammit..." he mumbled.

"She went dat way..." I said, pointing him in the wrong direction. He looked up at me, noticing me for the first time. "Oh, thanks, kid..." he said, jogging off in the direction I gave him.

When he was out of sight, I turned around and went into the alleyway. Searching behind all the crates, I was surprised to find she wasn't there. She had disappeared again.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

"Anyone up for cards?" Race asked. We were all sprawled out all over the bunk room. It was way too hot to sleep, but we were too exhausted to get up and do something. Even though the sun had gone down hours ago, the lodging house still hadn't cooled off.

Blink lifted his head up just enough to look at Racetrack. Then he sighed and let his head drop down again. "What!?" Race asked. "Nuttin', Race. I just think we all got tired of cards around da sixth time ya beat us." Blink said.

"A'right, a'right. No need to be jealous." Race said, grinning. "I'se goin' up on da roof. Maybe it's cooler up dere." He said, standing up. "I'll join ya." I replied. "Anyone else comin'?" I asked. They all shook their heads, staring up at the ceiling. "I wouldn't get up if someone paid me." Specs replied. "Ya lazy bums..." I muttered, following after Race.

As soon as we sat down on the roof, Racetrack snapped his fingers. "Ah, crap. I knew I was forgettin' somethin', I'll be right back, lemme just go back down and grab me cigar." He said, climbing down the ladder again.

A few minutes after he was gone, I heard someone's footsteps on the roof. I looked over, expecting it to be Racetrack. It wasn't, though. The girl had just jumped over onto the lodging house roof from one of the adjoining buildings.

At first I just looked at her, afraid if I said anything I would scare her away. I stood up, but I kept my distance from her. She didn't take a step back, but she shuffled around, looking uncomfortable.

"Thanks... for what ya did today." She said softly, moving a piece of hair out of her face. _Woah, she's actually got a personality..._ I shrugged. "Don't mention it. Me names Skittery, by da way. Ya got one?" I asked, this time stepping closer to her. She kept her gaze everywhere but on me and didn't answer.

I heard Race's shoes on the rungs of the ladder and I looked in that direction. Then I turned back to her. Without saying anything, she looked at me quickly and ran off.

I sighed and let myself fall into a sitting position again. "Sorry dat took so long. I went to look on me dresser and it wasn't dere... I swear, if dat little twerp takes me cigar one more time I'll-"

"She came back." I said, interrupting him. "What?" He asked, confused. "The girl. From the roof the other day. She came back while you was gone." I said. He laughed. "A'right, Skittery." He replied in a sarcastic voice. "I'm serious! She did!" I argued.

"Den why isn't she heah now?" he asked, as if he was talking to a little kid. "She left soon as ya came up. I dunno what's up wit her, but she just don't like talkin' to people." I said.

"So why would dis goil, who seems to be hidin' in da shadows all da time, only talk ta you?" Race asked. "How should I know?" I shrugged. "I helped her out today on da street. Guess she stole somethin', because some guy was after her. I pointed him in da wrong direction and she just came to thank me."

Race lit up his cigar and took a puff on it. "I guess I could believe dat. Dere's some strange people in dis city." He said, blowing out puffs of smoke into the air.

I laughed. "Says a 16 year old who spends all his time 'nd money gamblin'." He shot me a dirty look. "Yeah, yeah... make fun of me all you'se want, but I'll be da one laughin' when I get rich off a lucky horse." He replied, standing up.

"Where ya goin'?" I asked. "Bed. It ain't any cooler up here, anyway." He said. "Ya comin' down?" He asked. I shook my head. "I think I'm gonna stay up heah a little longer..." I replied. I had a feeling that girl was still around here somewhere.

I'm not sure how long I waited, but soon enough my head started to droop forward. I closed my eyes, feeling like I just couldn't hold them open any longer. Before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Something small hit the top of my head, making me sit up. "AHH!" I yelled, nearly jumping out of my skin when I saw her. I wasn't expecting her to be there. She was sitting about ten feet away from me, leaning her back up against the roof ledge.

"Ya really gotta stop doin' that. It's creepin' me out." I said. Her face stayed neutral and her eyes seemed to search mine. After a few seconds, a tiny smile formed on her lips.

My eyes wandered down to a pile of small pebbles she had next to her. Looking around the area I had been sleeping, I saw the pebbles scattered around. "Were you... throwin' rocks at me?" I asked. She shrugged.

I laughed and shook my head. "Why?" I asked. She was silent for at least a minute. "Took ya long enough to wake up..." she said.

We were both quiet for a while. I took a closer look at her since I had never gotten the chance before. She looked nervous all the time, but aside from that she was really pretty. Her light brown hair was slightly wavy and fell in her eyes, which were large and a soft brownish color.

"Why'd ya do that for me today?" she asked suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts. Her question caught me off guard. "I... I dunno, just tryin' to help ya I guess." I replied. She looked at me like she was completely baffled. "Why?"

I shrugged. "Ya looked like ya needed someone to look afta' ya, is all..." I said. "No one looks after anyone in this city." She mumbled, her voice turning bitter. _Woah... this goil really doesn't trust people easily, does she? _I thought. "Not true, actually. There's da newsies... we always look out for each udda." I said.

An idea snapped into my mind. "Hey! Ya should become a newsie!" I said. "Ya can stay in da lodgin' house wit da rest of us. Ya don't get paid much, but it'll be enough to get ya dinner every night..." I said.

The fear returned to her eyes and she stood up immediately. "Hey... what's wrong?" I asked, standing up also. "I ain't goin' back to some orphanage... no way." She replied, starting to walk away quickly.

"It ain't an orphanage." I said. I reached out to grab her arm so she would stop walking away. As soon as I touched her, you would have thought my skin burned hers. She pulled away so fast and gave me a terrified look. Then she ran off in the other direction.

"Hey...!" I sighed and started to run after her. "Hey! Hey goil!" I yelled. "Uh, goil... would ya hold on for one second!?" I called after her. She still didn't stop. Calling her "goil" didn't seem to be working. Suddenly, I thought back to what Race said. "Hey... um, Shadow!" I said.

She slowed to a stop and turned around, allowing me to catch up to her slightly. Still, she made sure a distance of a few feet was kept between us. By this time we were a few roofs away from the lodging house. "What did ya just call me?" she asked, her face full of confusion,

"Well, ya ain't told me ya real name, and I don't think you'se plannin' to... so I might as well make up my own." I said, trying to catch my breath.

Her gaze went down to the floor. "I gotta go..." She said, looking around for the nearest fire escape and climbing down. "Hey, Shadow?" I called. Surprisingly, she looked up when I said that.

"Can I talk wit ya again? On da roof, tomorrow night..." I said. I don't know what possessed me to say it, but it just came out of my mouth. "Why?" she asked, puzzled. "I... I dunno. I just... wanna, I guess?" I said. She started to look nervous again as her eyes darted everywhere but my face. "I ain't promisin' nuttin'..." She replied, climbing down the ladder.

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So Shadow's got her very own nickname now :D. Thanks for reading, and please send me a review if you get the chance.

**peculiarjuliar, ktkakes, and Pippa Kelly:** I'm pretty sure the three of you have been reviewing since about the first and/or second story I posted on here. Honestly, you guys are the greatest. Thanks for all the reviews you've sent and for sticking with these stories so long. I'm just suprised you haven't gotten sick of me or my writing style yet haha.

**Joker is Poker with a J: **Thanks for the review :D I love reading the ones you send to me. They're so... hm, what's the word? Energetic haha. Thanks again!!

**Trignifty:** Aw, thanks. Your review made me really happy haha. When I'm done posting this story, I'd love to hear what you think of this one in comparison to the others. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies." The only character that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Ahh, I'm way sorry you guys :( I wanted to have this chapter out earlier, but I was sort of running a little late. Right after school, I had this end-of-the-year boat trip thing for my grade. It was around Manhattan, and when we went under the Brooklyn Bridge, I think I kinda freaked everyone out... I got real excited and kept screaming "OH MY GOD IT'S SPOT CONLON'S TERRITORY." Woops, I'm a dork. Anyway, by the time I got back to my school it was 10 and then my brother (who was supposed to be picking me up), his car broke down. So that delayed me about another 45 minutes. What was the point of that long and useless story, you ask? The moral: Maria's a dork.

So here's chapter three.

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"Where is she?" I mumbled, letting my head drop backwards against the chimney. The noise from downstairs had died down, so I assumed the newsies went to bed. That had to mean it was pretty late.

Just as I was about to get up and accept the fact that she wasn't coming, I heard some movement across the roof. When I picked up my head, she was standing with her hands in her pockets and her head down. "I was startin' to think ya wasn't gonna come." I said, smiling at her.

She shrugged and sat down against the opposite ledge, keeping her distance from me. "So who are ya, anyway?" I asked. She didn't answer I sighed. "Fair enough. Guess I'll just keep callin' ya Shadow... So ya ever gonna have a real conversation with me?"

"I ain't much of a talker." She muttered. "Yeah, I'se can see that..." I replied. Still, I was determined to get her to speak to me. I began talking. At first about nothing unparticular, but then I got into selling papes and the newsies. She didn't say much, mostly just nodded, but she listened intently and it seemed like she was paying attention to every word I said.

After about an hour I had finally run out of things to say. We were both silent for a while. I watched her out of the corner of my eye. She pulled her legs in close to her body and shivered slightly. Although it had been a warm day out, it was chilly up on the roof because of the wind and the late time. Her clothes were thin and worn out, not providing much warmth for her.

I slid my arms out of my vest and stood up. "Heah, you'se can put dis over ya." I said, walking towards her. I held out the vest for her to take, but she scooted back as far as she could against the ledge. I sighed. "Look, I ain't gonna bite ya or nuttin', okay? Just gimme a chance..." I said, inching my way towards her. She looked nervous as hell, but she didn't move away. She cautiously took the vest and placed it over her so it acted like a blanket.

"Not very warm, but it should help a little." I said, using this distraction to move closer to her. "Thanks..." she replied slowly. I sat down next to her, leaving a few feet distance between us. She turned her head towards me. For the first time since I saw her, she looked me directly in the eyes.

"Why ya so terrified of people?" I asked, practically whispering now. "I ain't." she said, turning away now. I reached out and lightly touched her shoulder. As soon as I did, she jumped and clutched her hand over the shoulder I just made contact with.

"See?" I said, raising my eyebrow. "I don't like when people come near me is all..." she replied. "Why not?" I asked. I had to keep asking questions or she might realize what she was doing. She was unaware that she was letting her guard down and finally talking to me.

"'Cause... I dunno, cause I'se always scared dey're gonna hoit me or somethin'..." She responded. She immediately looked down at her shoes as if she thought her answer was stupid or something.

"So lemme prove dat I ain't gonna hoit ya..." I said. She looked at me questioningly, but didn't say anything. "Hold out ya hand." I said, putting out my own. She looked down at my outstretched hand, up to my eyes, and down to my hand again. "Hold out ya hand..." I repeated. She hesitated for what seemed like forever, but she finally put her hand out.

I lightly touched her hand. "What are ya doin'?!" She asked, pulling it back quickly. "Just trust me, will ya?" I replied. Shadow gradually put her hand out again. I touched it again, this time keeping my hand on hers for a longer period of time.

I moved my hand up to her shoulder. She flinched but she didn't make any effort to break the contact. I slowly lifted my arm and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes with my fingers. Then I placed my hand softly on the side of her face. "See? That didn't hoit, did it?" I whispered.

I didn't know anything about this girl. She hadn't said more than 10 whole sentences to me and I didn't even know her real name... but for some reason she gave me this strange feeling in the pit of my stomach...

I inched closer to her so we were sitting side by side. She bit her bottom lip and the anxiousness came back into her eyes. She placed her hand on top of mine and lightly brought it away from her face. "I have to go..." She said, standing up.

I took a deep breath and tried to get rid of the fluttery feeling in my stomach. She handed me my vest but kept her eyes down at the floor.

"Could... could ya come tomorrow again? Same time?" I asked hopefully. She looked nervously in the other direction. "I dunno, Skittery." She replied. I was surprised. I didn't think she actually remembered my name. After all, I only mentioned it once to her.

"Please?" I asked softly. She sighed. "I ain't promisin' nuttin'." She said again, turning to climb down the ladder.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

All day while I was selling, I couldn't stop thinking about her. She wasn't like anyone I had ever met before. Not even close. But I still couldn't figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I was hoping to maybe run into her while I was on my route, but I didn't.  
When I got back to the lodging house, I hung around with the other newsies in the lobby for a few hours. We played a few card games, losing most of our money to Race. I don't know why we even bothered playing anymore.

"Hey Racetrack, ya got da time?" I asked. "Yeah. It's, uhh..." He took out a pocket watch from inside his pants pocket. "11:55." He said. "Oh, crap! I shoulda been up on da roof a while ago..." I muttered, dropping my cards and standing up.

I began to climb the stairs to the bunk room. "What's a'matta, Skitt? Ya got a date or somethin'?" Cowboy asked, smirking. The other newsies laughed. "Course not... I'm uhh, late for me nighttime smoke." I lied,

"I thought ya quit smokin'...?" Crutchy replied. "Yeah, well um... I started again." I said, lying again and opening the door at the top of the stairs.

I climbed onto the fire escape and up the ladder, hoping she hadn't already dropped by. I sat down in my usual spot on the roof and waited. Even though she said she wasn't promising anything, I had a feeling she would come that night.

It was really dark up on the roof. The moon or stars provided no light because a thick layer of clouds covered over them. After waiting 15 or 20 minutes, it began to drizzle. I decided to give up and go inside. I doubted she was going to come in the rain, anyway.

As I was climbing down the ladder, I slipped on one of the wet rungs. I fell down the rest of the way to the fire escape, which thankfully wasn't a large distance away. "Ow..." I mumbled, using the railing to pick myself up.

Before I could get to the window I heard a high pitched scream. It echoed off the buildings in the city. Although it sounded far away, it still made me get goose bumps on my neck and arms. I stayed as still as I could, trying to hear anything above the sound of the rain hitting the metal fire escape.

I heard a few sets of footsteps running fast on the cobblestone. They echoed off the buildings as well, coming closer. Three shaded figures appeared around one of the corners. I watched them from above as they scrambled into the alleyway between the lodging house and another building. "That outta teach her..." one of them sneered. The rest stifled their laughter to keep quiet and kept running.

Something fell out of one of their pockets. It made a loud clatter sound when it hit the ground. The metal on it reflected the little bit of light being shown into the alleyway. It was a knife.

He turned around to pick it up, but the other one grabbed him by the sleeve. "No time, leave it there..." he whispered. "The cops'll be after us soon as they find her..." He said. They ran off and disappeared into darkness.

The worst ran through my head. _They couldn't be talkin' bout Shadow... no way. People get beat up in dis city all the time... The chances of it being Shadow are slim to nuttin'..._ I told myself. Still, my mind wandered back to the thought. _Maybe that's why she didn't show up tonight..._

Instead of heading for the window, I jumped down the stairs of the fire escape. Sprinting away from the lodging house, I tried to remember where the scream came from. I didn't have time to think. I just ran in one direction, hoping I was right.

I took a quick glance in all the alleyways I passed, hoping I wasn't overlooking her. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a still body lying on the side of the road. The streetlamp she was under dimly reflected off her face.

Rushing over to her, I saw her clothes were splattered in blood. Her shirt was slit on her upper arm, which was where the source of all the blood seemed to be coming from.

"Oh god..." I mumbled. I dragged her to her knees and tried to get her to wake up, but her head just fell forward onto my chest. "C'mon, Shadow... Get up..." I whispered, lightly tapping her cheek. Still, she stayed lifeless with her eyes closed.

I picked her up and headed for the lodging house, moving as quickly as I could while carrying her.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Oh dear / What happened to Shadow!? What are the other guys gonna think!? Why does Skittery wear pink long-johns!?

Thanks for reading, you guys. Please review if you can. I'd love to hear what you think of it so far.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Hi there. I don't really have much to say, so here goes chapter four.

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By the time I got to the lodging house, the both of us were soaked. When I opened the door, I was thankful to see the other newsies were still down in the lobby. They stared at me wide-eyed as I dragged Shadow out of the rain. They were all wondering who she was and what had happened to her, but they were all too shocked to move. "Well!? Help me, ya guys!!" I yelled. They all started to scramble at once.

"Snoddy, help me move her near da fire, and someone go get Kloppman!" I ordered. Snoddy picked up her lower body and I got her upper body. Steadily, we moved her over to the fire. Throwing a blanket down on the floor, we placed her on top of it. I touched her hand and found that it was ice cold.

Snipeshooter, looking frantic, appeared out of the office with Kloppman following close behind. "And Skittery came back and he was draggin' dis goil and she was all bloody and..." Kloppman didn't seem like he was listening. "A'right, A'right! Outta da way!" Kloppman yelled over the noise, pushing his way towards the girl.

"Skittery, how bad's the wound?" he asked. "I- I dunno... I didn't get a clear look at it yet." I responded. I ripped the tear in her shirt from the knife even further, until most of her upper arm was visible. There was a bad cut across her arm and it was still bleeding. Kloppman kneeled down next to me, examining it.

"It's a real deep cut... she's losin' a lot of blood..." he muttered "Boots! Get some kind of cloth to wrap this up in! And you—Dutchy, get a bucket of ice water. Cowboy, I need a few towels and some salt. Hurry it up!" he yelled.

In a few seconds, they all returned with everything. Kloppman took the towels and salt from Cowboy. He put some salt onto the fabric and started to clean her cut. He tossed me one of the towels, and I dipped it in ice water and placed it on her forehead.

"Is she gonna be okay?" I asked, growing even more worried. "It depends..." Kloppman replied, starting to wrap up her arm. "I'se hopin' she passed out from shock... But if she's out cold because of loss of blood than that ain't good..." He replied.

He finished wrapping the wound and stood up. "I guess we'se gonna have to see." He replied. "I suggest we leave her down here for at least a day. If we try to move her now the cut may open again... I'se gonna need someone to look after her tonight." Kloppman said.

"I will..." I replied, keeping my eyes on her. She looked really peaceful. Good thing she wasn't conscious, or else she would have been in a lot of pain. "A'right, Skittery." Kloppman said, lightly slapping me on the back. "You got any idea who she is?" He asked. I thought for a second. Then I shook my head. I really didn't know anything about who she was. All I knew was a nickname I had given her and that she was homeless.

He sighed. "I guess we'll find out when she wakes up then, huh?" The rest of the newsies were mumbling to one another, exchanging questions about the girl. "Okay, da rest of yous! It's late and dere's nuttin' to see here. Off ta bed! Ya gotta be up bright n' early tomorrow to peddle da papes!" He yelled.

The newsies reluctantly trudged up the stairs and Kloppman went into his office. I sat down on the couch next to where Shadow was lying. I was unaware that someone else had stayed behind. Racetrack sat down next to me.

We were both quiet for a while as he stared at her with his head in his hand. "Dat's her, ain't it, Skittery? Da one you keep talkin' to on the roof?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah, Race. Dat's her." I said.

"Do ya know what happened?" Race asked. "Who knows..." I mumbled, shrugging. "I just found her and she was like dis. Some vendors probably just got fed up that she was stealing their stuff all da time. Dey probably figured they was goin' to do somethin' bout it, since the bulls didn't really do much 'bout it."

Race gave me a questioning look. "Ya think someone would really go dat far over a few stolen pieces of food?" He asked. "I dunno... If I remember correctly, you'se the one who said there were some strange people in this city." I replied. Racetrack let out a weak laugh.

"Besides, I don't think it's just a _few pieces_ of stolen food... The way she's scared of udda people, I think she's been on her own in dis city for quite a while now...I also don't think she's gonna be real happy when she wakes up..."

"Eh, she can't freak out _dat_ bad... I'se sure it'll be fine." Race said. He stood up and gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. "See ya in da mornin', Skitt." He said, yawning and climbing the stairs to the bunk room.

I grabbed the blanket off the old chair in the corner of the lobby. As I brought it over to the couch near the fire, I decided I wouldn't need it that bad. I put it over Shadow, that way she would stay warm even though her clothes were still damp.

That's when I noticed my clothes were still damp, too. I thought about going upstairs to change, but I didn't want to leave her alone. Even if it was only for a second. I stretched out on the couch and tried to get some sleep.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

When I woke up in the morning, I woke up confused. It took me a few seconds to realize I wasn't in the bunk room. Quickly recalling what happened the night before, I sat up and looked over at Shadow.

She was still in the exact position we had left herShe hadn't moved one bit in her sleep, which couldn't have been a good sign. Her breathing was shallow and weak. I knelt down next to her and just watched her for a while. It was strange to see her so calm instead of afraid.

I was broken out of my thoughts when I heard the sound of the newsies above me getting ready for the day. I was reluctant to leave her, but I had to. I wasn't doing so well money-wise as it was. If I could have skipped a day to look after her, then I would have. I didn't have much of a choice, though.

I didn't leave the lodging house without making sure Kloppman would look after her. He rushed me out of the door with the other newsies after promising for the fourth time.

I knew she was going to be okay under Kloppman's watch, but that wasn't what I was worried about. It was going to be bad enough when she woke up. If I wasn't there to at least be a familiar face, she would freak out.

I bought half the papes I usually did so I could get back sooner. It didn't get me much money, but it gave me enough for dinner that night and some newspapers the next morning.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Thanks for reading guys. If you have any opinions, comments or criticism I'd love to hear it, so please review :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Hey guys. First off, thanks to the people who have been reviewing. You people are the greatest.

Okay, so yesterday's chapter was sorta short and ended in a weird place. Sorry about that. I was planning on posting more of it, but my computer crapped out and that was the most I could get. So this one's a lot longer. Enjoy :)

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"Ya think we should move her to da bunk room?" Specs asked. "Well, she can't be too comfortable on da floor like dat,,," Mush replied, shrugging. "It don't matta if she's comfortable, stupid. She's passed out!" Race retorted, followed by giving Mush a smack to the back of the head.

"Ow! What was dat for!?" Mush asked innocently, rubbing the back of his head and frowning. "Well," Itey said, ignoring them. "Kloppman said we can't move her for a day 'cause her wound might open, but it's been a day, so maybe we should."

"Wadda ya think, Skitt?" Cowboy asked, turning to me. I shrugged. "Guess we should. We'se got some extra bunks she can sleep in. But we'se gotta be real careful wit her. It ain't gonna be easy carryin' her up da stairs." I said.

"A'right, guys. Some of ya get on her left and some of ya get on her right." Cowboy ordered. About five of us carefully carried her up the stairs and dropped her lightly on one of the extra bunks at the far end of the room.

"Thanks guys." I said as they began to walk away. "Wait! She's movin'!" Snoddy pointed out. All of them, including me, turned to look at Shadow. She groaned and shifted her head. "Ugh, my arm..." She mumbled, putting her hand over the bandage. Everyone began to crowd around her bunk, talking quickly all at once.

She opened one of her eyes and screamed. She sat up and started to scramble around, backing away towards the headboard. "What... What the hell, where am I?! Get away from me!!" she yelled, looking at the newsies with a terrified expression.

They were almost as surprised as she was, staring at her wide-eyed. She pushed through them and ran for the door. "No, Shadow... wait!" I said, grabbing her and holding her back. "Let me go!" She yelled, trying to squirm out of my grasp. "Ya can't leave, you're real hurt!" I replied, struggling to keep hold of her.

"Let go of me!" She repeated, trying to kick me so she could run away. "Shadow, stop! You'se gonna hoit ya arm even more!" I said. She looked down at her upper arm. Fresh blood was starting to seep through the bandage. She stared at it for a second.

"Shadow... you'se okay?" I asked, letting go of her. She stood frozen for a few seconds before her eyes shut and her knees buckled under her. Before she could fall, I moved towards her and she collapsed awkwardly in my arms.

The other newsies were completely silent. I picked her up and brought her back over to her bunk. I placed her down again. Running my hand through my hair, I sighed. "Hope she doesn't freak like dat every time she wakes up, or dis arm's never gonna heal." I said.

I looked up. The guys were staring at me, giving me really confused looks. All of them except for Race. "Ya... Ya called her Shadow..." Specs said. "Yeah, so?" I replied.

"So I thought ya told Kloppman ya didn't know who she was..." Cowboy said. "Yeah, well... I... Dat's not her real name." I explained. "It's a nickname I gave her. I'se talked to her a few times before, but she never told me anythin' bout who she was. She could be da mayor's daughter for all I know." I responded.

"Ya think so!?" Kid Blink asked, excited. "A'course he don't think so!" Bumlets said, smacking the brim of Blink's hat down so it covered his face. "He was bein' sarcastic!"

"It was just a question!" Blink replied, fixing his hat and following the rest of the newsies out of the bunk room.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

**Shadow's Point of View**

Even though my eyes were closed, I could feel the sun on my face. The clearer my mind became, the more I could feel my upper arm starting to ache. I vaguely remembered what happened. Still, it was so vague it felt like it happened months before.

I was wondering where I was, but I was too afraid to open my eyes. If I remembered correctly, the last time I opened my eyes about 5 or 6 teenage boys were standing over me staring at me like I had three heads.

I listened closely. Hearing nothing but my own breathing, I assumed I was the only one in the room. Then I heard a page turn, and someone coughed lightly. The noise came from across the room, so I opened my eyes slightly.

My vision was really blurry, like I hadn't used it in a few days. I could barely make out the figure of a person sitting on the bottom of a bunk bed. I realized I was in a long room, with identical bunk beds placed in rows against the wall. It reminded me of the orphanage, and I began to panic.

Still, I kept quiet so the person would think I was still asleep. I blinked my eyes hard, trying to get them to adjust. The light shining in from the window into my eyes didn't help much, either. When everything finally cleared, I was relieved to find I recognized the person.

It was the boy I had talked to on the roof before. Skittery, his name was. He was sitting on the bunk across from me, reading a newspaper. Every few minutes he would turn the page and continue reading.

He was the one who tried to hold me back the last time I had woken up. After I saw everyone standing over me, I got scared. I tried to run for it, ignoring the constant pain in my arm. He held me back, refusing to let me go anywhere. When he pointed out my wound, I saw it and got real dizzy. I was out again before I hit the floor.

Skittery confused me. First he did me a huge favor by pointing that street vendor in the wrong direction. Then he asked me to come back and talk to him on the roof. After that he held me back from leaving when I was hurt.

There was no doubt in my mind he was the one who found me on the street after I got attacked. That would explain why I was here with him now. Why was he trying so hard to help me? No one in this city ever even gave me a second glance. Except, of course, the stand owners I would frequently steal things from.

I shifted my weight onto the wrong shoulder, and a sharp pain shot through my entire arm. I winced and clutched my bandaged arm. "Ow!" I whispered, before I could stop myself.

I hoped Skittery didn't hear me. I really didn't want him to start asking questions. He seemed to do that a lot, and I just didn't like talking to people. He glanced at me over the top of his newspaper, and saw that I was awake.

"Shadow!" he said, smiling. He put his newspaper down and walked over to my bunk. Sitting on the one next to mine, he asked, "How ya feelin'? Better?" He waited a few seconds, but I bit my tongue and didn't respond.

"A'right... not the reply I was hopin' for, but it's better than 'Get da hell away from me', which is da answer we got last time ya woke up." He said. "Where am I?" I asked, ignoring his last statement.

"Ya at da newsboys lodgin' house... you'se been asleep for 'bout two days now, but ya arm seems to be healin' okay..." he said, motioning to my wound.

I looked down at it. It was wrapped in a white fabric. Although there was some blood on it, it didn't seem to have bled in a while. "I ain't too fond of orphanages..." I muttered, keeping my head down.

"Oh, dis ain't an orphanage. Ya can come an' go as ya please. Speakin' of which, we should go talk to Kloppman. He said he needed to speak wit ya soon as ya woke up." Skittery said, standing up. I didn't know who he was talking about, but I didn't ask.

"Foist, ya might wanna get out of dose clothes, though." He added. I looked down. My shirt was dirty and ripped. My sleeve still had some blood on it from my arm.

Skittery walked over to a night stand in the middle of two beds. Opening the bottom drawer, he took out a shirt. "Heah, you'se can wear dis until you clean that one. It might be a little loose, but it's better than nuttin'. I'd give ya some pants too, but mine would be way too long for ya'."

When I didn't respond, he sighed and walked over to me. He handed me the shirt and I took it with caution. "Over dere are some sinks and showers ya can wash up in and change. I'll stay out heah so you can have your privacy, so jus' come out when you'se ready."

He held out his hand to help me, but I ignored it and painfully stood up on my own. "Ya just don't accept any help from nobody, do ya?" He asked, shaking his head and sighing. Skittery went back to his bunk and picked up his newspaper again.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Fifteen minutes later, I had taken a quick shower and changed. I brushed my wet hair with my fingers and shook it out so it would dry faster. Skittery's shirt was loose on me, but I didn't really mind. I rolled up the sleeves and buttoned up the shirt enough to cover the sleeveless undershirt I was wearing beneath it.

When I came out of the washroom, Skittery was still waiting for me. He looked up from the newspaper once again, and a half smile appeared across his face. "Ya look better..." he said. I wasn't sure if he meant I looked like I was feeling better, or I physically looked better but I pushed the thought out of my mind.

I followed him down the stairs and came to a large room filled with boys. I immediately tensed up. Most of them were sitting around, either on the few couches or the floor. All of them were either talking or playing cards, except for a pair of them who were arm wrestling. As I walked down the stairs behind Skittery, they looked up at me but didn't say anything. Instead they exchanged looks and went back to what they were doing.

Skittery led me over to a large wooden desk. Sitting behind it was an old man. He was wearing a dark colored bowler hat and had glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Oh, she's awake... eh, Skittery?" He said, looking up from a book he had been writing in. Skittery nodded. "Shadow, dis is Kloppman. I'se gonna leave ya to talk wit him for a while." Skittery said. Kloppman gave him a nod and he went off to join the other newsboys.

"So, your arm's lookin' better. How does it feel?" He asked. I shrugged. "You'se in any pain?" I shrugged again. Kloppman sighed. "Don't talk much, do ya? A'right, den. Guess I'll do all da talkin'."

"You'se in da Manhattan newsboys lodgin' house, incase Skittery didn't already tell ya. I run da place. Usually it costs a few cents a week to stay heah, but for da next few days ya don't gotta worry 'bout it. It's free for ya since you'se injured and we'se got a few extra bunks." Kloppman said.

_Next few days? _I thought. "Um, thanks an' all, but... that won't really be necessary. I'se leavin' today..." I said. "Oh?" Kloppman asked. "And you'se got a place to stay, do ya?"

I shook my head. "Well, no... But I can take care of meself." I replied. "Not wit ya arm like dat, ya can't. Out on the streets injured like dat? You'se just beggin' to get jumped again. You ain't goin' anywhere till ya let dat heal for a few more days. At least two." Kloppman ordered.

He opened a large brown book and slid it towards me. "Heah, sign ya name and write the date next to it. I like to keep track of who's stayin' heah." He said.

Not too happy about it, I signed my name as "Shadow". Since I had been asleep for a few days, I wasn't completely sure of the date. However, I didn't want to ask Kloppman. He sort of scared me. Instead I took a guess and shut the book, handing it back to him.

Skittery saw that I was done talking to Kloppman and came back over to me. "So much for 'come and go as ya please'." I mumbled, low enough for only Skittery to hear. "What are ya talkin' about?" he asked. "Kloppman ain't lettin' me leave until me arm heals." I replied.

"I agree wit him. You'se in no condition to be alone in da streets right now." Skittery said. Before I could respond, a short newsie with a cigar in his mouth called across the room. "Hey, Skittery. We'se goin' to Tibby's. You comin'?" he asked.

"Uh... Hold on, Race..." Skittery turned to me. "How 'bout it, Shadow? You hungry?" He asked, as if I had been invited, too. Truthfully, I didn't want to go. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. Especially a huge group of loud newsboys. But the gnawing pain in my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten in a few days. Reluctantly, I agreed and we all left the lodging house.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Okay, so Shadow's awake. But how is she gonna get along with the other newsies :O

If I can, I'll post another chapter tonight. Thanks for reading and please review


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Okay, guys. Before we start this thing, I want to share something with you. Something quite pathetic, and in my opinion, pretty hysterical. While I was cleaning out my closet yesterday I found my old journal from first grade. In it was my first attempt at writing a story. The spelling is completely horrible, and I'm not even sure what some of it says. I'm going to type it exactly as written. So here we go. This is how I started off as a writer.

"Thats the wish I allwes wanted" - By 7-year-old Maria.  
"Wons apon a time tere was a girl. She was very sad. Avy kid she now mad fun of her becose she liter then them. that nite she saw a soting star. Wut will i wist for she sade. ah a frand she shoted. The next morning her ant sade I have a gift for you. She braig the girl into her backyard. ther rite in front uf her ther was a huj avel with a blacit on in her ant puld the blancit off. It is a dolfin she crid and it be cam her frand."

WTF!? A DOLPHIN!? Wow...Just for putting up with that, you guys get an extra long chapter of newsieness. :)

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Skittery and I sat side by side in a booth table at the restaurant. I didn't feel too comfortable sitting that close to him, but if it had to be anyone I was glad it was Skittery.

A few moments later, two newsies slid into the seat across from us. "Hey, guys." Skittery greeted them. They smiled at him and looked to me. I kept my eyes down at the table in order to avoid their glances.

"Hi... I'm Mush." One of the boys said. He had short curly brown hair and a warm innocent smile. He held out his hand to shake mine. I looked from his hand, up to his eyes, down to his hand again. His smile disappeared. "A'right, or not... Dat's fine, too."

"Me names Kid Blink," the other boy said, "But most people jus' call me Blink." He had blonde hair and wore an eye patch over his left eye. I nodded quickly to show I had heard him, and then let my gaze drop away from them again.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them give questioning looks to Skittery. He just shook his head and shrugged. The waiter came by and took the orders for all the tables filled with newsies. I ordered a water and a sandwich, but aside from that I didn't utter one word to anyone.

Being with this many people made me so uncomfortable. I was used to being alone practically all the time. Except for the crowds on the street in New York City, of course. But the people there never tried to start up conversations with me, like the newsies were trying to do.

I would either shake my head yes or no, and if it was a question that required an actual answer I would just shrug. After a while they all just stopped trying to start conversations with me.

Everyone except for Skittery, who would still talk. He didn't expect an answer and I didn't give him one, but he still spoke to me. Normally this would bother me, but oddly I didn't mind. I actually liked listening to him.

When we finished eating, we all counted up the correct amount of money and left it on the table. We stood up to leave, but someone came in through the door.

Three people, actually. They were dressed as newsies, but they wore serious expressions on their face. The carefree expressions the Manhattan newsies had disappeared when these three walked through the door. The restaurant grew quiet and uneasy.

There was one who walked in front of the other two. I thought this was strange, because he was the smallest of the three. He carried a black cane with a gold handle. His sandy blonde hair was long enough to be seen from underneath his newsboy cap, and he had smoky blue eyes.

"Conlon!" Jack said, taking a step forward from the rest of us. He spit in his hand and held it out in front of him. "Hey ya, Jackie Boy. How's it goin'?" He asked, spitting in his own and hand shaking Cowboy's.

"Not bad. So what brings ya to Manhattan, Spot?" Cowboy asked. "Nuttin' too important. I'se just gotta talk wit ya and den I'se headin' back to Brooklyn. 'Bout business stuff. Da Bronx ain't too fond of stayin' in their own territory an'-- Hey Jackie Boy, ya got a new newsie. A goil, huh? Dat ain't very common..." Spot said, walking over to where I was standing.

I started to turn around and go back into the crowd of newsies so he would leave me alone. I didn't like to be the center of attention. "Hey, where ya goin'?" He asked, grabbing my wrist.

"Oh... She ain't exactly a newsie, Spot... she's just—" Jack was interrupted. "Let go of me!" I yelled a little louder than I expected to, I pulled my arm back quickly.

Spot's expression turned neutral. If he was surprised by my outburst, he sure didn't show it. Still, the way he looked at me showed he didn't like to be given orders.

He stood glaring at me, and I glared back. For a second I thought he might even throw a punch at me. Someone put their hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I flinched at first, but strangely I calmed down when I saw it was Skittery.

To my surprise a smirk appeared across Spot's face and he chuckled. "Got yourself a hostile goil dere, huh Skittery?" He said.

"She's not my goil." "I ain't his goil." The both of us exclaimed at the same time. Skittery's face turned slightly pink and he glanced at me, while I looked down at the floor.

The room became uncomfortably quiet again, and Cowboy broke the silence. "A'right... So Conlon, we'se headin' back to da lodgin' house. Why don't ya come along for da walk and we'll talk then. You'se gotta head in dat direction to get back to Brooklyn anyways..." Cowboy offered.

With one more puzzled glance at me, Spot turned around to talk to Jack. "Shoah, Jackie Boy. Dat sounds good..." he replied, slipping his cane through one of his belt loops. The murmuring began to return to the newsies, and soon they were talking at full volume again.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

I sat on the floor against the couch, a few feet from everyone else. The other newsies were scattered around the lodging house lobby, but most of them were involved in a card game. I stared at them, letting my vision blur out. It appeared that I was watching the card game, but I was really just in deep thought.

"Ya know how to play?" Skittery asked me, looking up from his cards. I broke out of my thoughts and shook my head from side to side. "Ya want me to teach ya?" he offered. I shook my head again.

Cowboy came in from finishing his conversation with Spot. He closed the door behind him and sat down on one of the chairs scattered around the room. "Apparently da Bronx newsies want Spot's territory... He ain't too happy 'bout dat." Cowboy explained to the rest of them. "Of course wit his ego, he's sure he can take 'em. But he just wanted to know if we had his back jus' incase."

The other newsies laughed at Jack's comment about Spot's ego. I had only met him for a few seconds and I already knew it was true. "Look, Speakin' of which..." Blink said, looking at me. "Shadow... Spot Conlon ain't used to bein' told what to do, so... Maybe you should, ya know..."

"Watch what ya say around him... He ain't a person you wanna get on da bad side of..." Racetrack finished for him. _They're telling __**me **__to watch what I say around him? They should be tellin' him to lower his self-image a bit... _

"You guys may be scared of a lil' shrimp wit a cane, but I ain't." I mumbled, getting up. I walked over to the stairs and started to climb them. Just before I went in through the bunk room door, I heard Race mumble, "I think I liked her better when she didn't say nuttin'..."

-.:':.:':.:':.-

I lied in my bunk, staring at the wooden bars above me that were holding the other mattress in place. I thought I would be happy to just be alone, but instead thoughts raced through my head.

I heard someone come in through the door and approach me. I didn't have to turn my head to see who it was, either. I figured he would sit on the bunk next to me, but surprisingly I felt the mattress sink down on one side of me.

My mind told me to get up and move away from him, but for some reason I didn't. I just let him sit beside me as I pretended to ignore his presence. "They'se just tryin' to be friendly, Shadow...Jus' give 'em a chance..." Skittery reasoned. When I didn't reply for a while he sighed, resting his head in his hand.

I stole a glance at him, but returned my gaze to the bunk above me before he could notice. "It don't matter." I said, finally breaking the dead silence. "I'se gonna be gone first chance I get, soon as Kloppman lets me."

Skittery turned to look at me. His face didn't show any emotion, but his eyes did... It wasn't anger. It was more like... _hurt?_ Nah couldn't be...

"Why do ya wanna leave so bad? Ya know... ya could just stay here. Be a newsie. It ain't exactly high livin', but ya learn to like it." Skittery said. "I told ya, a'right!? I'm out of heah. First chance I get!"

"For what!?" Skittery asked, starting to raise his voice. "To go back on da streets!? So ya can be a _thief_ again!?" His words stung me and I didn't know why. I had been called a thief before, because that's what I was... but for some reason when it came from Skittery's mouth it hurt much more. Maybe it was because he was the closest thing to a friend I had. Or maybe it was something else...

"Don't you _dare _call me dat..." I hissed angrily, narrowing my eyes at him. "Why not, Shadow... It's what ya are!" He replied. "I stole food because I had to. So I could survive! I had no choice!" I yelled back.

"Yeah, well now you'se got a choice! You'se bein' offered a job, a place to stay, 'nd maybe even a few friends! And you'se gonna toin dat down to live on da streets!? Why would ya do somethin' dat stupid!?" He asked.

"I can take care of meself, okay? I don't need people. I like bein' alone, just me, by myself. Obviously, ya don't seem to get dat. Because you still botherin' me." I spat.

"Why do ya hate udda people so much, Shadow!? Especially when dey're only tryin' to help! Why!?" He shouted.

I let out a heavy sigh full of frustration and anger. "Ya wanna know why, Skittery!? Why I hate people so much!?" I yelled, quickly changing my location so I was sitting beside him.

"Because me mudda beat me, okay!? Real bad. Afta' me fadda died, she toined to drinkin'! Me olda brudda left, sayin' he just couldn't take it anymore. He said he'd come back for me and he never did! He was da only one who cared bout me, and he _never came back for me_. So I ran away. 9 years old. Alone in New York City. I couldn't take da teasin' I got at da orphanage, neither. From da udda kids because I never talked to anyone. So I ran away from dat, too! Does dat answer ya question, Skittery!? Does it!?" I yelled.

The only noise in the room was my heavy breathing. My eyes were filling up with tears, but I refused to let them drop. I glared at Skittery, never breaking eye contact. He stared back at me, but not in anger. His facial expression was soft now as he searched my eyes for an emotion other than rage.

"Shadow..." he said, almost whispering. "I'se real sorry..." His voice was filled with sympathy. Skittery put his hand on my shoulder, but as soon as he did I shook it off. I turned away from him so he couldn't see my face. "I don't want your pity." I spat.

He sighed, and when he exhaled it sounded uneven and ragged. My tears stung my eyes but I wouldn't blink, keeping them held back. "There's a difference between pity and carin' 'bout someone, Shadow..." he whispered.

I didn't know what to think or say. So I decided on my usual defense. My main way of keeping people out. I stood up to run away from it, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him.

I stumbled backwards into him, and he wrapped his arms around me. I tried desperately to break free of his grasp, but he held onto me and refused to let me go. There was no use in fighting him. I was no match for his strength.

Surprising both Skittery and myself, I let my head drop onto his chest and I buried my face in my shirt. I'm not sure how long we stayed there, but he just held me as I surrendered to letting the tears roll down my cheeks.

After what seemed like forever, he finally broke the silence. "Ya may have been screamin' at me, but at least ya speakin' to me in full sentences now..." Skittery said. When I didn't reply, he shuffled around so his chin was resting on the top of my head. "I would never hoit ya on purpose, Shadow. I promise." He whispered.

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Thanks for reading, guys :D Reviews would be great, (speaking of which, thanks to the people who have reviewed) and I'll have another chapter out by tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies." The only character I claim ownership over in this story is Shadow.

AHH school is being such a pain in my ass. The amount of homework and studying right now is unbearable, but I only have three more days of classes left. That's 27 periods. Or 18.45 hours. Or 1107 minutes. Or 66420 seconds. Could you tell I'm counting down? Then there's a week and two days of finals, but whatever. The point is, I'll be done soon and then I can write allll summer long. God, I can't wait.

So here goes. Not an extremely long one, but not extremely short either. Still, a lot gets cleared up in this chapter. Enjoy :)

-.:':.:':.:':.-

_"I would never hoit ya on purpose, Shadow. I promise."_ Skittery's words lingered in the air and in my mind for the next few silent minutes. Still, neither of us moved.

We heard the sound of the newsies running upstairs. Kloppman must have told them they had to get some sleep. "Neither would the udda newsies." Skittery said, adding on to what he said a few minutes ago. "You'se got a few days before Kloppman lets ya leave anyway, so ya might as well at least jus' think about it..." he whispered.

Skittery let go of me and walked to his bed. He sat down just as the other newsies filed through the door. Knowing nothing about what happened, they noisily got ready for bed.

Even after I was sure everyone else had fallen asleep, I still couldn't. My eyes were tired, but my mind wouldn't let me fall asleep. _What had happened to me?_ I was fine before all this. I never brought up my past and I chose to forget it.

I was a loner. I didn't let people talk to me or even make contact with me in any way. I liked it better that way and I was fine by myself. And then he comes along.

After hiding all of this for years, he comes along and I spill out my entire heart to him. 16 years of things I kept hidden from the world, _Why had I let him hold me like that?_ I asked myself. _I hate Physical contact. It makes me uncomfortable. _I told myself _...or at least it always did. _

Why was everything different with him? Why did I get that sad empty feeling in the pit of my stomach when he let go of me? Why did I feel comforted instead of nervous when he talked to me? And most of all...Even after I had tried to convince Skittery I didn't want to stay... Why did I know deep inside that it was a lie?

I didn't want to think about this anymore. I closed my eyes tightly and tried to force sleep to come.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

I didn't talk much to Skittery in the next few days. I didn't want to get even closer to him since I knew I would be leaving soon. I sat alone in the bunk room while the others sold their papes all day.

On the third day of being in the lodging house, I was sitting by myself in the room. It was about noon by that time. I had woken up around 8 o'clock, and the newsies were already gone by that time. They must have left really early every morning.

The weather outside that day was horrible. Even though the rain was on and off, the clouds still refused to leave.

Kloppman entered the bunk room carrying a large broom. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw me. Then he took a deep breath and mumbled something about "not used to having people there with him during the day."

"How do ya feel, Shadow?" he asked, starting to sweep the wood floor. I shrugged. He sighed and continued cleaning. When he had a large pile of dust collected in the corner, he leaned his broom against the wall and came over to me.

"A'right, hold still..." He ordered. Despite my mind telling me to move away, I stayed where I was. He unwrapped my bandaged arm for the first time and looked at the cut. It was almost healed. I would still get a dull pain every time I moved it, but it was dull enough that I could ignore it.

"Hmm... Very good. Okay, you'se free to go." He said. I had a feeling he would let me go that day. Kloppman told me I didn't have to stay more than a few days, and it had been three. Still, his words caught me by surprise.

"When you're ready and ya got your stuff togedda, come down and tell me. Then you'se free to leave. " Kloppman said, sweeping the dust into a pan and grabbing his broom before going downstairs.

I sat there for a while, just letting it sink in. _What's the matter with me? I thought I'd be happy when I could leave this place? I thought I would be running for the door as soon as I was allowed to go.,,_

Taking my time, I slowly washed my face and brushed through my thin hair with my fingers. I changed back into my old ripped up clothes that had been washed for me. Laying Skittery's clothes on his bed, my mind buzzed with thoughts.

I told Skittery I would think about staying. But I never let myself. I never let myself picture what it would be like to be a newsie. Because I knew that part of me might have actually wanted to stay.

As I placed the clothes I had borrowed from Skittery neatly on his bed, I let myself think about it for once. I pictured myself selling papers for a living, and not having to steal food anymore. I pictured myself living at the lodging house. It was my home and they were my friends. The newsies.

Then I pictured myself living on the streets again. I would have to go back to being alone and unbothered. I thought that's what I wanted, but then Skittery came to my mind. If I left, I couldn't just meet him on the roof anymore. It wasn't that simple anymore. Going back on the streets meant rarely seeing or talking to him anymore.

As I left the bunk room and walked down the stairs, I thought of something. I reached into my pants' pocket. It was still there, somehow managing not to fall out. My hand clasped around it and I pulled out the old dime. I had found it lying on the sidewalk months ago and picked it up.

I thought about using it for food. So I could buy my food for once instead of stealing it. But instead I thought I would save it, incase I needed it for something really important.

Kloppman saw me walking down the stairs. He nodded at me. "I'll cross your name off in da book." He said, looking down and dragging his finger across the names searching for mine. "You'se can go." He said, keeping his gaze down at the book.

Instead of heading for the door, I stopped at Kloppman's desk. He looked up at me and pushed his glasses up further on the bridge of his nose. "Is there something else you need?" he asked, confused.

I put the dime on the desk and slid it towards him. "This enough for da week? At least until I get more?" I asked. A smile spread across his face. "Shoah, dat's enough. But keep it for papes tomorrow. You'se can pay later. Glad to see you'se changed your mind."

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Despite the horrible weather outside, I was in a really good mood. There really was nothing to do while the other newsies were working, so I just lied in my bed for a while. The rain outside started to get harder until each drop hit the window with a loud noise.

I couldn't wait for Skittery to get back so I could tell him. I figured I would pass some time by sleeping, but the loud thunder outside kept me awake.

Sometime around 5 o'clock PM I heard a few sets of feet running up the wooden stairs. I sat up and saw Snitch, Dutchy, and Kid Blink enter. Their clothes were soaked through and through from the rain. They were the firsts to come home from selling, and they came up to the bunk room to change into dry clothes.

Kid Blink's bunk was next to mine. I saw him searching through his bedside drawer for a dry shirt. Even though he slept a few feet from me, I still hadn't spoken more than a few words to him since I'd been there.

I figured I might as well _try_ to become friends with the rest of the newsies, since this was my home now and all. I was going to try to leave the street life behind and start off fresh. To try and forget everything that happened between my childhood and the first time I met the newsies. That meant at least attempting to trust people.

I still didn't feel so comfortable talking to the others, but I took a deep breath and tried to push past that. _Here goes..._ I thought.

"Hey..." I said, looking over in Kid Blink's direction. He glanced up at me with a surprised look on his face. His mouth opened a little and he arched an eyebrow at me. "You talkin' to me?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah..." I replied, shrugging as if it weren't a big deal. He cleared his throat and stood up, grabbing a shirt out of the drawer. He was quiet for a second while he eyed me suspiciously. "Why?" he asked finally.

"I'm not allowed to say hi?" I responded. "'Course you can say hi... but uh, you sorta... don't talk to anyone 'cept Skittery. So I was just kinda surprised is all." Blink said, shrugging.

"Yeah, um... 'bout that... I'se sorry I'se been so cold towards ya guys. I just ain't... used to bein' around people much. But I guess I gotta get used to it..." I said.

"You mean you'se stayin?" Blink asked, sounding taken aback. "Yeah... why, is dat a bad thing?" I asked. He laughed. "Nah, 'course not. I just thought you wanted to get outta heah soon as ya could."

I shrugged. "I did, but... Guess I just changed my mind. Besides, sellin' papes can't be too hard, can it?" Blink grinned. "You'll do fine. Welcome to da newsies, Shadow." He said, taking his clothes into the washroom to change.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

For the next few hours, newsies filed in and out of the bunk room . When they were done changing, they went down to the lobby. I stayed upstairs, though, waiting for Skittery. He was one of the last to come in.

He walked with his head down and his hands in his pockets. He reached his bed without even noticing me, opening his drawer for a change of clothes.

"Heya Skittery." I said, sitting up in my bunk. He looked over at me, surprised. "Shadow! You'se still heah!" He said. "Why aren't ya gone yet?"

"Whadda ya mean? Am I supposed to be gone?" I asked. "This mornin' before I left Kloppman told me was gonna let ya go today. Didn't he tell ya?" Skittery replied, walking over to me. "Yeah, he told me a few hours ago."

"Oh... figured you'd wait 'nd say goodbye, then?" Skittery said, his smile disappearing again. I waited for a second before I shook my head. "Nah, I ain't sayin' goodbye."

"You'se stayin' heah?" Skittery asked in disbelief. "Yep. Me foist day as a newsie starts tomorrow." He stared at me for a while, grinning. "Good, I'se glad. I don't think I was ready to say goodbye, anyway." He finally replied, walking over to look for dry clothes again.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Thanks for reading! Please review if you get the chance, and, as always, I should have another chapter up tomorrow.

ImaSupernaturalCSI, ktkakes, NarniaRulz-- thanks for reviewing the last chapter, you guys :D Much appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Heya, (Insert your name here instead of "Boots"). how's it rollin':D

AHHH LAST DAY OF CLASSES IS TOMORROW. No more homework, no more pop quizzes, no more PMSing french teacher... Life is good :) Or, at least it will be after tomorrow. Then all I gotta get through is finals... oh crap.

Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I got a little sidetracked with some stuff that I had to get done. Soooo here we go.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Kloppman's voice echoed throughout the room. "C'mon! Wake up, get up! Outta bed. What's' 'ammata wit you kids? Ya sleepin' ya lives away. Get a move on, all 'a ya's! Shadow, foist day! Let's go!"

I opened my eyes a little, saw it was still dark, and closed them again. This guy is crazy. It couldn't be past 6 in the morning.

I started to doze off again when I felt the covers pulled off of me. "C'mon, Shadow! Time to sell da papes!" Blink said. I rolled over and buried my head in the pillow. "Yeah, yeah... sounds like a riot." I muttered, closing my eyes again.

My pillow was the next thing to go. "Hey! I'se sleepin' heah!" I yelled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "Not anymore, ya ain't." Pie Eater replied from across the room, grabbing his clothes off his bed.

I sat up and looked out the window. The sun hadn't risen yet and it was still pouring. The rain had not stopped from the day before. If anything, it had gotten worse. The sides of the streets were overflowing with puddles. "I really ain't lookin' forward to goin' out in dat..." I mumbled.

"Ah, cheer up." Blink said, pulling his shirt on over his head. "A little rain never hoit nuttin'. 'Cept maybe our profits... 'nd it ain't very fun when da ink runs all over our hands... 'Course, I could do witout da puddles. Sometimes da water seeps into our shoes 'nd—"

"Blink, ya ain't makin' me feel any better." I said, stopping him from talking anymore. He laughed and shrugged. "Sorry." He replied, grinning.

"A'right, fellas. Listen up." Jack yelled. He finished tying his red bandana around his neck and continued. For the most part, the guys quieted down and turned to listen to him. "Incase ya bums didn't know, we'se got a new newsie wit us. Her names Shadow." Cowboy said, motioning over to me.

"Now, since she's a goil, and we ain't used to havin' any in da lodgin' house, dat means we'se got some new rules. For one, watch what ya say 'round her, a'right? Jus' try to have _some_ manners... Anudda thing, in da washroom... try not to walk 'round in ya underwear, okay?" Jack said, looking directly at Specs. "I ain't da only one who does dat, a'right?" Specs muttered in defense. The other guys started to laugh and went back to getting ready.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

By the time we got there, I was already completely soaked. The large iron gate looked so familiar. I'd passed by there a million times, but I had never been inside the gates at the distribution desk.

I stood next to Kid Blink on the line, which seemed to be moving fairly quickly. "Hey, ya wanna sell wit me?" he asked. "I mean... I know you likes to be on your own 'nd stuff, but since it's your foist day you might want a lil help..."

I hesitated for a moment, but reminded myself that I had to try and trust him. "Yeah, sure. That sounds good." I said, attempting a smile. More people cleared off to the side after buying their papers. We took a step forward and were at the desk. "Wadda ya gettin'?" A man sitting on the other side asked through the bars.

"70 for me." Blink said. The man called out the number over his shoulder, and in a few seconds the papers were slid underneath the bars. He dropped a few coins on the desk and the man took them. "What 'bout you?" He asked, looking at me.

I looked at Kid Blink and shrugged, not knowing what to do. "Uh, she'll take 25 papes." Blink said. I dropped the dime on the desk and was given change along with 25 newspapers.

As soon as I picked up my papers, the ink already started to bleed onto my hands. Blink saw my expression and laughed. "Don't worry, Shadow. It ain't always dis much of a drag. Ya just picked a bad day to start." He said as we started walking towards the streets.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Blink and I were having tough luck selling. All the newsies were. The weather made it really difficult. All people cared about was rushing from point A to point B without getting drenched by the rain. Very few people stopped to buy newspapers from us.

"Nah, see... if ya yell out dat headline no one's gonna buy." Blink told me, flipping through the newspaper. He stopped on a particular page. "Here. Look at dis headline." He said, pointing to large letters that read "Electrical Fire Starts in Apartment Building: All Residents Escape Unharmed."

He stepped out from under the awning that was sheltering us from the rain. "Extra, Extra! Man intentionally sets apartment on fire 'nd runs! Many left injured!" He yelled. Two people hurrying down the street stopped to buy papes from him.

He pocketed the money and came back under the awning. "See? Now you try." I picked up one of my newspapers and glanced at each page. Seeing a headline that said, "Flu Spreading Around NYC." I stopped on it. "This good?" I asked. Blink shrugged. "See what ya can do wit it."

I went out into the middle of the sidewalk. "Immigration ships bringing plagues to NYC!" I shouted. My voice was lost in the sound of the rain falling hard on the streets. Blink pulled me back under the covering. "That was good!" He said, grinning. "You'se gettin' da hang of dis. Now all ya gotta do is be louder. I could barely heah ya 'nd I was standin' two feet away."

I tried again, but my voice was still unable to be heard. "Hmm... Wait... I'se got an idea." Blink said, looking behind me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me through the crowd of bustling people. We stopped at a wooden crate that was against a building.

"Heah, stand on dis. Maybe you'll voice will go further." I stepped up onto the crate and tried a third time. "Immigrant ship brings plagues to New York City!" I yelled as loud as I could. A few people stopped in front of the crate. I handed them their papers and got three pennies in return. I looked at Blink, who was standing nearby with a smile on his face. I dropped the pennies into my pocket and yelled out the headline again.

A few seconds later, a loud crash erupted from the sky. The thunder made my heart skip a beat. Practically jumping out of , my own skin, I slipped on the wet crate and fell forward towards the cobblestone.

"Woah, watch it!" Blink said, dodging under me and catching me around the waist before I fell. My hands rested on his shoulders for a while as I regained my balance. "Thanks..." I said, smiling at him.

"No problem." He replied, grinning. I realized our faces were only inches apart. Blink was one of the closest friends I had at the lodging house. But the years of avoiding contact nagged me to move away. Still, I stood frozen as we stared at each other.

Someone bumped into Blink's shoulder hard, nearly knocking him over. Broken out of his daze, he let go of me and turned around to see who it was. "Oh, hey Skittery..." Blink said, calling after Skittery who had intentionally (or at least it looked that way) knocked into him.

Skittery rolled his eyes and kept on walking. Blink watched Skittery with a confused expression as he disappeared through the crowd. "What's up wit _him_?" Blink asked, turning to me. I shrugged. "Who knows? I think dis weather's bringin' us all down." I replied.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Skittery's jealous, possibly:O

Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear what you guys think, so please review.

NarniaRulz, Trignifty, ktkakes, -BeeVee-THEEAmazing, ImaSupernaturalCSI-- Thanks so much for your reviews :D They were all really nice and much appreciated.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie "Newsies." The only character I claim ownership over in this story is Shadow.

Hey guys. I know, I know... I've sorta been slowing down a little with getting the chapters out. But! I promise I'm not disowning you guys haha. My last day of classes was yesterday (score.) and now all I've got is finals. I'm kind of stuck on the newsie fanfic that I'm writing at the moment, so I actually started writing something other than a fanfic. It's really weird, because I haven't written anything real like that in almost a year :O

Anyway, enough mindless babbling crap. Here goes the story.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Even though the skies stayed overcast, the rain stopped for about 20 minutes during the day. Blink and I were able to sell a portion of our papers before the rain started again. Exhausted and waterlogged, we returned to the lodging house around 6:00.

Most of the newsies were already in the lodging house when we got there. Few of them had bothered to change because they had already used their only other dry clothes the day before. Blink and I collapsed on some chairs near the windows. "How'd ya foist day go, Shadow?" Jake asked. I shrugged. "Not bad. Jus' tiring." I replied.

I looked around the room for Skittery. When I found him he was sitting across the room on a couch. I tried to catch his eye so I could tell him to come over. As soon as we made eye contact, though, he looked away. _Guess he's still in a bad mood..._ I thought.

When just about all the newsies returned, Cowboy stood up. "A'right, so the rain still hasn't stopped. Which means I'm guessin' no one's up for poker tonight at Conlon's." Jack announced. Racetrack looked like he was about to protest, but Jack stopped him. "'Scuse me, lemme rephrase dat. No one but _Racetrack_ is up for poker tonight at Conlon's," Race sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What's he talkin' 'bout?" I asked Blink. "Usually we all go to da Brooklyn lodgin' house about once a month to play poker wit Conlon and his newsies. We had it planned for tonight, but I don't think we'se goin' 'cause of da storm..." Blink explained.

"Dat ain't true, Jack. I'se still willin' to go." Itey said. "Yeah, me too..." Swifty agreed. However, Jack looked hesitant. "I dunno, fellas. Da storm out dere is pretty bad." He said.

"Aw, come on, Jack! It's just a lil bit of rain!" Crutchy begged. "Yeah, 'nd we'se already soaked as it is, so we might as well go." Snoddy added. "It ain't too long of a walk. Who knows, maybe it'll clear up soon, too. It can't rain forever, right? Whadda ya say, Jack?" Boots asked.

"A'right, a'right! But if da storm gets real bad 'nd we'se gotta spend da night in Brooklyn, don't blame me." Cowboy replied. I saw Racetrack shudder and Jack smirked at him. "Still wanna go?" He asked, teasingly. Race sneered sarcastically at him. "Cowboy, look at who we'se talking 'bout heah. When was da last time Racetrack Higgins let anythin' stop him from a poker game?"

-.:':.:':.:':.-

"We'se leavin' in about 10 minutes. Ain't ya gonna get ready to go?" Cowboy asked, as the others made their way up to the bunkroom. I shook my head and stayed right where I was. "I think I'se gonna stay here tonight, Jack."

"Aw, how come?" He asked. "Well, for one I dunno how to play poker." I replied. "So we'll teach ya. It ain't hard." Cowboy offered. I shrugged. "Ain't just dat. I'm drained, too. Foist day was kind of tirin' for me 'nd I ain't looking forward to goin' out in that rain again." I responded. I also wasn't too excited to see Spot Conlon again. Especially after the run in we had at Tibby's. I didn't tell Jack that, though.

Jack smiled and nodded. "A'right, Shadow. You'se can just come next time." He said, going upstairs. The lobby was half empty now that almost everyone was in the bunk room getting ready to leave. A chill went through my body caused by my wet clothes and damp hair on my back.

Now that it was vacant, I moved over to the couch by the fire and sat down, pulling my legs up to my chest. I immediately felt better as soon as the warmth crept through my body. I wanted to go upstairs and change, but I was comfortable on the couch. Putting my head down on top of my folded arms, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

When I woke up, I assumed I would be alone in the lobby. All the newsies had left already so it was quiet. I didn't even hear Kloppman walking around the lodging house, but he couldn't have been out. I knew he wouldn't leave any of the newsies alone while he wasn't there.

It was dark in the room except for the dull light from the fire, but it was almost out. I sat with my eyes closed for a while, listening to the soft crackling noise the smoldering wood made. I could still hear the rain and wind outside, too. Every so often there would be thunder and lightning. The storm hadn't gotten any better. _I hope the guys got to Brooklyn okay..._ I thought. Someone turned on the light, surprising me.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Skittery at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh... were you sleepin'? I didn't mean to wake ya..." He said. I shook my head. "Nah, I was awake... What are ya doin' heah? Why didn't ya go wit da guys?" I asked.

He shrugged and took a seat across the room. "Didn't feel like goin'. Poker ain't really my thing. 'nd I wasn't really in da mood to go to Brooklyn, anyway. Didn't have much of a good day." He replied. "Yeah, ya looked kinda stressed today when ya passed me on da street..." I said.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well we cant _all _have a great day like you did." Skittery replied. "What are ya talkin' about?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "Nuttin'." He mumbled. He turned halfway around in his chair so he wasn't facing me anymore.

"What gave ya dat idea? If anything my day was sorta difficult..." I said, refusing to let him drop it that easily. "Really? 'Cause you and Blink sure looked like you was havin' a lot of fun." He growled under his breath.

"So? Whadda you care if I'm friends wit Blink..." I said, standing up from the couch. He stood up too and took a step towards me. "I thought you hated talkin' to people. I also thought it bothered you when people touched ya. 'nd you'se known Blink for two days and all of a sudden you trust him like he's your best friend?" Skittery said.

"I never said he's my best friend... All I did was spend one day sellin' wit him. Why's dat botherin' you so much?" I asked, taking another step towards him. He did the same. Skittery tripped over his words. "It... it just is, okay?" he replied, dropping his gaze down to the floor.

"If you was so against me sellin' wit another person, maybe ya shoulda asked me to sell wit ya before Blink did." I replied. Skittery sighed out of frustration. "First off, I was goin' to... but dat's not even da point."

"Then what is the point!?" I asked, getting impatient. Why was he acting like this? Skittery opened his mouth like he was going to answer back, but then he closed it again. He took a deep breath and sighed.

He slowly took the last few steps towards me until he was standing right in front of me. "Ya just don't get it, do ya?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. I searched his eyes, hoping to get an answer but he stayed quiet.

He slowly picked up his hand and placed it on my cheek. Skittery moved even closer to me until there was barely any room between us. I was sure that would make me feel uncomfortable, but for some reason it didn't. My uneasiness was replaced with a feeling of security. He brought his face closer to mine. Even when we were inches apart, though, he still didn't break eye contact.

A bright stream of lightning filled the room, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. Both of us jumped back and the room went pitch dark.

"Shadow, you'se okay?" his voice came from a few feet away. "Yeah, I'm fine..." I replied. "What happened?"

"Guess da lightning blew da electricity out... I'll go get Kloppman." Skittery said. "Stay dere. You probably don't know your way 'round da lodgin' house well enough yet to walk 'round in da dark." He added.

I heard footsteps and a door creek from across the room. I waited for about a minute until Skittery came out of Kloppman's office. "He's asleep..." he said. "Ya don't think we should wake him, right?" I asked.

"Nah, I don't think so... It ain't an emergency or nuttin'. Besides, I think I know where Kloppman keeps some old lanterns."

"Where are you?" I asked, putting my arms out in front of me. "Over heah..." He said. "Over where?" I replied, almost tripping over one of the chairs. I felt his hand clasp around mine. "Follow me, okay?"

He led me over to the staircase and started to climb, still holding on to me. "Watch da stairs..." he warned. When we got to the bunk room, we found it was even darker than the lobby. He let go of my hand. "I can't see anythin'..." Skittery said, feeling along the wall. "There's a door heah somewhere..." he muttered.

"Ah, found it." I heard the handle turn and the creaking of the door. "I think he keeps lanterns in dis closet..." Another bright light filled the room from the storm outside. For that split second, I was able to see some boxes and an old wooden dresser in the closet. On top of it, among other junk, were two or three old lanterns.

Skittery picked one of them up. He held the lantern in one hand, and grabbed my hand with the other. We made our way down to the lobby again, trying not to trip down the stairs.

Using the last of the dying fire, we were able to light the lantern. Skittery placed it in the middle of the room on the floor. It didn't give off much light. Just enough to produce a dim glow in a circle surrounding it.

Skittery grabbed the old blanket off the couch and spread it out over the floor. He took a seat on it and I did the same.

Neither of us talked for about 15 minutes. I was lost in thought as I watched the moving shapes and patterns the lantern shown on the wall. I heard Skittery shifting around so he was lying down on his side. Using his elbow for support, he rested his head in his hand.

He didn't realize, but I stared at him out of the corner of my eye. His eyes were fixed on the lantern and the flame reflected its light on his face. His brown hair was just barely long enough to hang over his eyes.

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but without thinking about it I crawled over to him. I lied down next to him and moved so close that my forehead was against his chest.

Taken by surprise, he didn't move for a few seconds. Then his arm slowly wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I fell asleep in his arms, listening to his steady breathing and the sound of the rain on the roof.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

So, Like it? hate it? comments? Constructive criticism? Please review :D And thanks for reading.

Kutestar94: Thanks :) glad you like it.

ImaSupernaturalCSI: I love reading your reviews. They're always so enthusiastic, haha. Thanks for sending them, and I like your newsie accent in the last one.

-BeeVee-THEEAmazing: Another one of the enthusiastic reviewers lol. Thanks for the comments, they were all really nice!

Joker is Poker with a J: Don't worry about it. I appreciate that you review at all lol, a lot of readers don't even bother. Thanks.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

OH. MY GOD. Before we start, I've got something incredibly amazing to share with you guys. There is going to be (ready for this?) ::Drumroll:: An actual Newsies Rally in New York City this summer. Newsies Fans from all over are going to meet in NYC, visit Irving Hall, yell off the Brooklyn Bridge, see the real Horrace Greenley statue, ect ect. The girl in charge of this trip sent me an e-mail last night! I'm not sure about this site's policy on links, so if you guys want the link to the site (where all the information about this is included) then tell me and I'll be more than happy to give you the website address. I'm getting all my newsie-freak friends together to go, and I'm absolutely thrilled! Alright. With that said, on with the story.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Someone tripped over me and I awoke. "Woops. I seem to have tripped on dis huge lump lying in the middle of da floor —Oh, dear me. Would ya look at dat. It's Skittery and Shadow." Race said. He overly annunciated every one of the words to stress the fact that he was being sarcastic.

I opened my eyes and found I was still in Skittery's arms. Sunlight streamed through the windows, lighting up the lobby of the lodging house. I squinted to try and block out some of the brightness that was hurting my eyes.

When my eyes finally adjusted, I looked up to see Racetrack standing closest to us. His arms were crossed over his chest and a huge smirk was on his face. The rest of the newsies stood behind him, snickering and trying to stifle their laughter. "Oh god..." I muttered. I lifted up Skittery's arm and moved it so I could stand up.

In doing so I woke up Skittery. "Is...Kloppman's wakin'...? I didn't do it. Time to sell papes..." He mumbled, still keeping his eyes closed. "Not exactly, Skitt." Race said loudly. Skittery opened his eyes. At first he looked confused, but then his eyes went from the burnt out lantern, to the blanket under him, to me standing next to him. "What- What are you guys doin' heah!?" He asked, scrambling to his feet.

"We live heah, genius." Dutchy replied. "Yeah, well obviously I know dat..." Skittery said, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "But uh... I mean, when did ya get back?" He asked. "'Bout ten minutes ago. Da storm got real bad last night and we had to spend da night in Brooklyn. It was bout 9 AM when we walked back, so we missed da mornin' edition 'nd just decided to come back heah." Jack explained.

"Dat's when we saw you two..." Crutchy said, grinning. "We'se been debatin' whedda to wake ya up or not, because ya just looked so cute 'nd all."

The newsies laughed while both mine and Skittery's faces went beet red. "Shut up, guys..." He growled. "So _dats _why you wanted to stay home last night...Huh, Skitt?" Specs teased. "No, it ain't. I told you, I had a bad da-"

He was cut off by Snipeshooter. "I thought you was missin' out on da poker game, Skittery. But obviously da two of ya enjoyed yourselves too." The group burst out into laughter again.

Skittery narrowed his eyes at them, but it just made them laugh even harder. He muttered angrily under his breath and picked up his hat, which must have fallen off while he slept. Quickly putting it on his head, he trudged out of the lodging house.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

I waited a few hours, but Skittery didn't come back to the lodging house. Sometime after noon we left without him to go to the distribution office. Since we missed the morning edition, we would have to sell the afternoon.

I stood on the long line with Blink. He was the only one who wasn't teasing the crap out of me about that morning. "Hey, look... Dere he is..." I said, pointing towards the front of the line. Blink followed my gaze and saw Skittery standing a few people away from the desk.

Looking over his shoulder, Skittery's eyes met mine. He stared at me for a second, before looking the other way like he hadn't even noticed me at all. "What's his problem?" I asked Blink. He shrugged. "I dunno. Guess he's still pissed off 'bout all da comments from da guys."

"Yeah, but he doesn't have a right to be mad at me... I didn't say anythin'..." I replied. I watched Skittery quickly buy his papers and exit the gate. "Maybe he's tryin' to steer clear of ya, so da others leave him alone." Blink suggested.

We bought our papes and headed out into the streets. I sold with Blink again. None of the newsies really liked selling the afternoon addition. At least in the morning people were heading off to work. By the afternoon people had already heard the news of the day, and only few people bought papers.

We finished around 7 and met up with Mush and Race around Central Park. Together, the four of us walked to Tibby's. When we walked through the door, Jack, David, Les, Snitch, and Specs were sitting at a table. Racetrack went to a booth behind them and slid in, greeting them. Mush followed him and sat next to him.

Blink and I slid in across from them. Picking up menus, we spend a few minutes deciding on what we wanted. A waitress came to take our orders and scribbled mine, Blink's, and Race's down in a notepad. When it was Mush's turn to order, he looked up at her and started tripping over his words.

"I'll have a... um... what am I gonna have again?" He asked, turning to Blink. "Didn't ya say you were gonna have a ham sandwich?" Blink replied.

"Oh... oh yeah. I'll have a ham sandwich please." Mush said, blushing and smiling shyly at her. She laughed. "Are you alright? You seem flustered..." She asked Mush, picking up the menus from the table. I looked up and really noticed her for the first time. She had long blonde hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked about our age, if not a little older.

"No, no...I'm just..." Mush tried desperately to think of something to say, but he was way too nervous. "We'se never seen ya 'round heah before, 'nd we come all da time... Ya just start woikin' heah?" Race asked, changing the subject. Mush shot him a thankful look.

The waitress laughed. "I live in the same apartment building as the owner. He needed a few workers, so I told him I would help out for a while. Anything to get myself work outside of those dreadful factories." She replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

She tucked her notebook into her apron. "I have to get back to work now, but it was nice chatting with you. If you come here as often as you say, I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of you. I'm Grace, by the way." She said, smiling. Before she left the table, she winked at Mush. Judging from the lack of color in his face, I'm pretty sure he was about to faint.

I heard the bell on the door ring and looked up to see Skittery. He saw me and moved his gaze to the far wall of the restaurant. "Hey, Skitt! Over-" Skittery walked right past our table. "Here..." David finished, scratching his head in confusion. "Alright, never mind then..." He muttered, completely lost since he wasn't at the lodging house that morning to witness what happened.

I watched Skittery sit down alone at a two person table. He was across the restaurant, far away from all of us. I sighed and turned back around.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Mush dropped his half-eaten sandwich in his plate and rested his head in his hand. "What's wrong?" I asked, putting down my drink. Mush had an upset look on his face. Racetrack followed Mush's gaze across the room. "Looks like da waitress is already gettin' kinda friendly wit Skitt." Race commented.

I turned around and looked over. The waitress was sitting across from Skittery. He was drinking a coffee, and she was leaning forward onto the table with her hand under her chin. I couldn't see Skittery's face, but the waitress was beaming and giggling at whatever Skittery said.

I twisted forward in my seat again. A feeling of anger built up in the pit of my stomach. _She really has some nerve... I mean, she JUST met him... _I thought. _Wait... am I... __**jealous?**_I shook the thought from my head. _No way. I don't have any claim on Skittery or anything... It's not like we're a couple.._.

"Shadow, you okay?" Race asked. "Of course I am. Why do ya aks?" I said, trying to make myself sound calm. He shrugged. "Maybe it's dose french-fries dat you're murderin'." He said, pointing down to my plate.

I was subconsciously squashing my french-fries with my fork until they looked like mashed potatoes. Blink put his hand on my shoulder. "It's a'right if you're mad, Shadow. I mean, if ya like Skittery and she's flirtin' wit him 'nd all den that's gotta make ya feel real-"

"It doesn't. Gretchen can flirt with him as much as she wants for all I care." I responded, cutting Blink off. "Grace." Mush muttered. We all looked up at him, puzzled. "Her names Grace." He repeated in a small voice.

"Yeah, well... Whatever her name is. I don't care. And I definitely don't like Skittery." I told Blink. He opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him before he could. "And don't say nuttin' bout dis mornin' neither. It just looked like more than it was. It was a mistake, because I don't like him." I said, louder than I had expected to. A few other people started to look over in our direction.

Blink shut his mouth again and none of us said another word.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Uh oh... Looks like Shadow's got some competition, huh?

Thanks for reading, guys. Please review with all your comments and criticism. I'd love to hear them.

To the people who have been reviewing-- Thanks so much. I love you guys.

And don't forget to get the website for the 2007 Newsies Rally in NYC!!!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Hey guys. Sorry I've been a little slow on the updating. All I've had time for in the past few days is studying and sleeping. But just four more finals and I'm done. Anyway, long chapter. Here goes:

-.:':.:':.:':.-

I lingered behind at the restaurant for a little while after the guys left. I wasn't in the mood to walk back to the lodging house with them. I would rather go alone.

The silent walk home gave me time to think. The farther I walked, the more my anger was replaced with guilt. I felt bad for snapping at Kid Blink and the other guys the way I did. They had been nothing but nice to me. And it certainly wasn't their fault that Skittery had ignored me all day and then basically dropped me like a hot potato.

The first thing I did when I got to the bunk room was pull Blink aside. I led him just outside the doorway leading to the stairs. We were still visible to the other newsies, but we weren't able to be heard.

He seemed hesitant to make eye contact with me. At first I couldn't think of the right words, so it was quiet. "You okay, Shadow?" He asked. "You seemed pretty keen on walkin' home alone..."

"Fahget 'bout dat..." I said. "Listen, Blink... I'se real sorry I snapped at ya before. Somethin' came over me 'nd I didn't mean to." His usual smile returned to his face. "It's a'right, Shadow. I jus' didn't want ya to be mad at me or nuttin'." He replied.

I glanced into the bunkroom. Snitch was talking to Skittery about something, keeping his voice down. Although Skittery was listening, his eyes were on me. When I glanced at him he looked away.

I smiled back at Blink and tried to hide the fact that something was still bothering me. "A'course I ain't mad at ya... I just ain't in da best mood right now..." I said, figuring there was no use lying to him.

Surprising me, he pulled me into a big hug. When he moved away, I saw he grinned even wider. "Well, I'se got somethin' that'll cheer you up. Ever hoid of Medda Larkson?" He asked. "Think so. She's got a theater or somethin' near heah, doesn't she?"

Blink nodded. "I'se never been to any of her shows or nuttin, but people 'round heah really seem to like her... why do ya aks?" I replied. "Da guys and I stopped by her theater on da way back heah. Jack's real good friends wit her, 'nd sometimes she holds shows for da newsies. She's gonna have one of dose dis Friday night." Blink said. I shrugged. "Sounds like fun." I replied. "Oh, it is... All da guys love it. I'm sure ya will, too."

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Blink and I learned soon after buying our papes that it was going to be a slow day. Not only were the headlines bad, but it was too hot for people to walk around. Most tried to seek refuge from the heat by staying inside.

We decided it was best if we split up. That way we could each cover two different places. If we stayed together, we would have to split the customers that were scarce as it was. We agreed to meet at Central Park in a few hours once we were both done.

I only bought 30 papers and it still took me forever to sell them. When I finally got rid of the last of them, it was late afternoon. I started heading towards the park.

When I walked through the entrance, it dawned on me that Blink and I had forgotten something. Since we had made the plans around 6:30 AM, we were both still half asleep. We hadn't decided on a specific meeting place within the park. Central Park was huge, which meant he could be anywhere.

I decided I would search around for a while until I came across him. Or at least another newsie who might have seen him.

I eventually came to a group of about 4 or 5 newsies. I couldn't tell who they were yet because I was nearly 20 feet away. They were all sitting on a cluster of huge boulders, balancing on the ones that were flat at the top.

They were all sitting facing the other way, so even as I approached them I couldn't tell who they were. I recognized their voices to be Racetrack, Dutchy, Itey, Snitch, and Mush. Blink wasn't with them.

I walked closer to ask them if maybe they had seen him, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard something.

"Yeah, I sorta feel bad for Shadow..." Itey said. "Why? She said she don't like him. I heard her say it. So what would she care if Skitt's spendin' a lot of time with dat waitress?" Snitch replied.

_So __**that's**__ where he's been..._ I hadn't talked to him in a couple days. Skittery had been steering clear of the lodging house, only stopping there when he had to sleep. For the rest of the day, he would sell papers and spend his time somewhere else. Now I knew that somewhere else was Tibby's. I thought he had just been trying to avoid me and the guys, but that wasn't it. He was with Grace.

"Speakin' of da waitress..." Racetrack said. "I hoid dat Skitt aksed her to go to Medda's tonight wit him. Looks like he's got a new goil..."

That was all I could bear to hear. I slipped off in the other direction quietly, breaking into a run when they couldn't hear my footsteps anymore. I couldn't understand why overhearing what I did hurt me so much.

My legs were weak and my chest was heaving by the time I was halfway to the lodging house. I saw the statue in the square. The one of some guy named Horace Greeley.

I collapsed near the base of the statue and rested my back against it. The streets were clearing out now that it was near dusk. I pulled my legs up to my chest and rested my folded arms on my knees.

I stayed there long after I caught my breath, trying to clear my mind. _I never needed anyone before I came here... I was fine on my own._ "I don't need Skittery..." I mumbled, trying to convince myself more than anything. The words sounded like a lie to me.

It was starting to get dark. Medda's show would be starting soon. I knew I should be getting back to the lodging house so I could get ready, but I was unsure if I even wanted to go. Still, Blink seemed so exited when he was telling me about it. I would hate to let him down like that.

I pushed myself up from the ground and headed towards the lodging house.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

The bunk room was buzzing with excitement when I entered. The newsies scrambled around, trying to get ready as quickly as they could.

"Hey, dere ya are, Shadow..." Itey said when I walked through the door. "We'se been lookin' for ya. You'se better hurry 'nd get ready. We'se leavin' in 'bout 20 minutes." Itey told me, completely unaware that I had overheard their conversation at the park.

I quickly washed up and changed. I shook out my hair as much as I could, but it still wouldn't be dry by the time we left. Even though my hair was almost naturally straight with a few light waves, I still liked to wear it up to keep it out of my face. Tonight I was too frustrated to care. I figured I would leave it down for once.

I threw on some clean clothes and went into the bunk room again. Blink was waiting for me next to my bed. "Heya Blink..." I said, sitting down on my bunk.

I stole a glance over at Skittery's bunk. For once he was actually in the bunk room. He was sitting on his bed pulling on his shoes. I looked away before he caught me staring at him.

"Hey... what happened today? I was lookin' all around for ya at Central Park 'nd I couldn't find ya." Blink said. I had completely forgotten about Blink earlier after I heard the guys talking.

"Oh God, Blink... I'm so sorry. I went dere to look for you, but den... um... somethin' happened dat made me a little scatta'-brained." I said honestly. Blink gave me a confused look and sat down next to me. "You'se okay, Shadow?" He asked.

I nodded and shook it off like it was nothing. "Yeah, 'course... I'm fine." I said, smiling at him. I hoped he couldn't see the disappointment behind my smile.

"A'right, good den." He replied, putting his arm lightly around my shoulders. "Uh... Shadow?" He asked, looking down at the floor.

"Mhm?" I reached down and grabbed my shoes that were sitting next to my bed. Blink took his arm off my shoulders. "Well, see... I'se wonderin' if you wanted to go wit me tonight—I mean, you'se gonna be wit me anyway because you'll be wit da guys who will be wit me... but I mean _wit_ me... It don't gotta be a date or nuttin', I mean it can be kinda like a friend thing but—"

"Sure, Blink. That sounds great." I interrupted him, giving him a reason to stop tripping over his words. I finished putting on my shoes and stood up.

Just then, the bunk room door flew open and Race ran in. He was out of breath and his eyes searched around the room frantically.

"Blink! Dere you are!" He exclaimed, running towards him. By now, most of the newsies had quieted down thinking that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Race?" he asked. Racetrack ignored the question. "Blink, we'se friends, right? Good friends?" He asked, still trying to catch his breath. Blink shrugged. "Yeah, 'course we are."

"I need ya to do me a favor... A huge favor." Racetrack said. Kid Blink sighed. "How much do ya need?" He asked, assuming he needed someone to spot him money for a bet on the races.

Racetrack shook his head. "No, it ain't dat... I need you to take a goil out to Medda's wit ya tonight. As a date." He said. Blink arched his eyebrow at him. "Uh... Race, I'se sorry... I can't." He said.

"Please, Blink! I'se beggin' ya! Just for tonight 'nd you'se never gotta see her again if ya don't wanna. But I hoid she's real pretty, too... please!?"" he asked. "If she's so pretty then _you _go wit her." Blink reasoned. Racetrack let out a frustrated sigh. "No! I'se already got a date... I met her while sellin' today. I aksed her to come wit me tonight, but she refuses to go witout her best friend, so I told her I'd find a date for her."

"I can't, Race... Jus' tell her you couldn't find a date for her friend. I'se sure she'll understand. " Blink suggested. "She won't understand! If her best friend doesn't go, den she won't go! I don't get why she's bein' like dat... women are real strange..." Racetrack said, scratching his head. "Watch it, Higgins..." I said, crossing my arms.

He looked up at me, noticing I was next to Blink the whole time. "Oh... Sorry Shadow. Didn't mean you. But please, Blink! I really like dis goil! Why can't ya jus' go wit her friend?" he begged.

"I'se goin' wit Shadow..." Blink said, motioning to me by tilting his head in my direction. "But Blink!! I—woah, really? You 'nd Shadow?" Race said, completely forgetting about the dilemma he was in.

"Yeah, me 'nd Shadow." Blink said, crossing his arms. "Dat so hard to believe?" Racetrack put his hands up in defense. "Nah, I jus'... Didn't expect it." Judging by the other guys' looks, they didn't expect it either. They had been watching us with shocked expressions. None of them moved. Except Skittery. He stood up from his bed and walked out of bunk room without saying a word to any of us.

Racetrack watched Skittery leave and turned to the newsies for an answer, but they just all shrugged. Racetrack shook his head and rolled his eyes. "A'right... Which one of ya bums don't got a date tonight?" he asked them.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Thanks for reading, and please review if you can.

ktkakes, ImaSupernaturalCSI, -BeeVee-THEEAmazing: Thanks for the reviews, you guys. You're the greatest :D

Oh! And the 2007 Newsies Rally in NYC is July 27-28. The girl organizing it would like everyone who's coming to RSVP soon, so if you guys want the information tell me and I'd be more than happy to send you the link.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Helllllooo. And how is everyone? Good? Good. I am so tired lately it's crazy. Seems however much sleep I get is never enough :( But, still counting down, only 3 more finals left to go. Alright. Enough of reality. Manhattan, NY in the early 1900's is just so much more interesting.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Since Blink and I decided to linger behind the rest of the group a little, we arrived later. Blink led me by the hand into the huge building. I could hear a loud drone of voices coming from the theater.

When we walked in, I was completely taken by surprise. I had never seen so many newsies in one place before. I assumed it would just be the Manhattan newsies, but looking around I saw the infamous Spot Conlon with his boys. Along with them, there were others from all around New York City.

The building was teeming with boys. A few girls were scattered within them, but the boys outnumbered them 10 to 1. Blink pulled me across the crowded wooden balcony and down the stairs. He stopped at a large round table that had two empty seats.

Sitting at the table was Racetrack and Mush, along with two girls seated next to them. Skittery and Grace were also there.

"Heya, Blink, Shadow... Take a seat." Race yelled over the noise, motioning to the two empty chairs. Blink sat next to Mush and I took the last chair. It happened to be next to Skittery.

Since I thought it wasn't a good idea to start a conversation with Skittery, I tried to look at anyone but him. Guessing by the girl on Racetrack's arm, I assumed he had gotten his date. The two of them were chatting happily. Racetrack introduced me to her as "Anne." Mush was sitting next to a girl, too, which I guessed was Anne's best friend. Her name was Sophie.

Her chin was resting in her hand and she looked really bored. Sophie didn't talk to Mush and he didn't talk to her. Mush stared longingly at Grace, who was talking to Skittery.

Grace looked pretty. Much prettier than me. Her long hair that was usually tied up was hanging over her shoulders. Unlike me, she had dressed up. She was wearing a simple but beautiful white dress that went down to the floor.

"You sure you'se alright?" Blink whispered in my ear, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Hmm? Oh, yeah. Jus' a bit tired is all." I said back. He nodded and put his arm around my shoulders.

The stage was empty although bright lights were shining on it. "Attention everyone. Introducing Miss Medda Larkson, the Swedish meadowlark!" The red curtains parted in the middle and the newsies went crazy.

She smiled and took a bow as the boys waved their hats above their heads and cheered her name. Even though I had heard a lot about her, I had never seen her before. She wasn't old, but I thought she would be a little younger.

Medda had on a pale yellow gown. It dragged on the floor in the back, but it got shorter in the front so it was just above her knees. It had short sleeves with lace that puffed out. She had a matching yellow feather in her hair fastened into her bun.

She started singing and the newsies cheered even louder. They all seemed to know the words and sang along. After the first song, Blink turned to me. "You like da show so far?" he asked, grinning. I nodded. The truth was, I hadn't really been paying that much attention. The singing and noise faded into the background because I had been in deep thought.

Grace and Skittery seemed to be having a good time. She did most of the talking and he was pretty quiet, but he seemed happy enough to be with her. I sighed and looked towards the stage as Medda started her second song.

She wasn't a bad singer. I tried to concentrate on the music, but I just couldn't focus. I got as far as something about her "sticking out her chest" when I started to zone out again. Under other circumstances, I probably would have enjoyed the show. But I had too much on my mind to pay attention.

I felt someone touch my hand that was lying on the table. I thought it was Blink, but when I looked over it was Skittery's hand. Butterflies started to form in my stomach. Realizing he had accidentally placed his hand beside mine, he pulled it back. "Oh, sorry... 'bout dat. Wasn't payin' attention to what I was doin'..." I pulled my hand back as well. "No, it's okay... I wasn't either..." I replied.

We both turned away and our faces turned a dark pink color. I glanced at Racetrack. He had a smirk on his face, but when he saw me looking at him his facial expression went serious. He quickly turned towards the stage and pretended to be focused on the show.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

I woke up with the biggest headache I've ever had. In addition to the loud cheering I had to listen to all night, the show ended sometime around 1:00 AM. Kloppman was yelling his wake-up calls throughout the bunk room by 5:45.

The boys rolled out of bed, looking completely exhausted. Mush rolled out of bed, too. Literally, resulting in a loud crash because he had a top bunk. He got up from the hard wooden floor and rubbed his head. Mumbling "ow" over and over again, he stumbled into the washroom.

There was no way in hell I was getting out of bed. I groaned and rolled over, bringing the blankets up over my face. "Come on, Shadow. Get up! Get up, goil!" Kloppman said, standing next to bed. "No way..." I muttered, putting my pillow over my head. "Yes way. Let's go. Gotta sell da papes." Kloppman began poking me annoyingly in the back.

"Fine! I'm up..." I said, sitting up in my bed. Kloppman chuckled to himself and walked away, shaking his head at me. "Dat guy's nuts..." I mumbled to myself when he was out of earshot.

So I had to get out of bed. But I didn't have to sell papers. Over the past week I had saved up enough money that I could skip a day and not fall behind in profits. I told the guys I would meet up with them later and walked the opposite way of the circulation desk.

I wasn't planning to go anywhere in particular, but I ended up near Tibby's. To my surprise they had already opened. I rarely got a chance to have breakfast since we were already working by sunrise. I figured it would be nice to stop in and have something small to eat or drink.

The place was basically deserted except for a few workers who were helping to open the store. I sat in a small booth near the windows. I looked through the menu basically for the sake of passing the time.

"Skittery isn't here, if that's who you're looking for." I looked up to see Grace standing by the table. The last I had seen of her, Skittery was walking her home the night before. _God knows what happened when they were alone during that time..._ That thought made me feel uneasy and I had lost my appetite.

Now her hair was in a ponytail like always and she was back in her waitress apron. "I ain't heah for Skittery..." I said, confused.

"Oh... Alright. Then can I take your order?" She asked, taking out her notebook. "I'll jus' have a coffee I guess." I said. She nodded, wrote it down, and walked away.

A few minutes later she placed the coffee down in front of me. "Thanks..." I muttered, picking up the spoon to stir it. I could still sense her standing next to the table. When I looked up she was staring at me with her hands on her hips. "What?" I asked.

She sighed and shook her head, sliding in the booth across from me. "You don't have to be upset about Skittery and I." She responded. I arched an eyebrow at her. "I don't see what you'se gettin' at..." I said. "You're upset and I can tell. But I can also tell when I'm not a guy's first choice." She replied.

It was quiet for a second while I stared at her, confused. "I still don't get what you're tryin' to say." I said. She sighed again. "Look, I like Skittery. I really do. But I know I was simply there to make another girl jealous. And Skittery couldn't keep his eyes away from that girl the entire night." She got up from the table before I could respond.

"Grace, hold up a second!" I called after her. "What are ya _talkin'_ about?!" I said. Before she walked through the kitchen doors, she said something over her shoulder. "I basically spelled it out for you. If you don't understand it now then you never will."

-.:':.:':.:':.-

Thanks for reading and please review if you have comments or criticism. I'd like to know what you guys think.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Oh man. Second to last chapter :D Seems like I just started posting this one and now I'm done. Speaking of which, thanks so much to the people who have been reviewing on this story. I love reading your comments. Anywho, I've got two more final exams left and then I'm off for the summer and I can spend every ounce of my time writing. yyeesssssssssss! And here we go.

-.:':.:':.:':.-

I walked through the doorway and scanned the room. No luck. He wasn't there. "Any of ya seen Skittery?" I asked. All the guys shrugged and shook their head, returning to their poker game. What Grace said had been nagging me all day. _Did she mean that Skittery liked me? But then why did he ask her to Medda's instead of me?_

"A'right. If ya guys see him, could ya tell him I need to talk wit him?" The guys absentmindedly nodded, involved in their card game. I sighed and slid the window open. Stepping out onto the fire escape, I was hit with a cool summer breeze. I climbed up onto the roof and sat down against the chimney.

The whole day I had wandered around the city. Now it was dusk and the sun was just setting. The sun was almost pink instead of the usual yellow, and the clouds around it imitated the shade of color. It left streaks in the sky and it was just peeking over the tall buildings.

I sat there alone until the sun wasn't visible anymore. The only natural light was coming from the sun's reflection on the clouds and a pink glow along the horizon.

"Da guy's said you was lookin' for me?" A voice said. Caught off guard, I whirled around to see Skittery climbing over the top of the ladder. I nodded slowly and returned my gaze to the horizon. He sat down next to me, putting a few feet of distance between us.

"Reminds me of when we used to talk heah on da roof. When we foist met. Remember?" He asked. I nodded again. _How could I forget?_ "Yeah..." I whispered. It was quiet between us for several minutes. I heard Skittery sigh and he turned to face me. "Well, ya said ya wanted to talk to me. So ya gonna talk or what?" He asked.

I had been waiting all day to talk to him, and now the words wouldn't come out. "Wish I could... I'm not really sure what to say." I said truthfully, giving him a weak smile. Skittery sighed. "Well if you're not gonna, den I am." He said, standing up. "My intention wasn't to ignore ya, Shadow... But dat's what I'se been doin, 'nd I'se sorry... But did ya have to do dat to me?! Afta' you knew how I felt 'bout ya?"

"Do what to ya?" I asked, standing up also. His mouth dropped slightly open. "Don't play dumb, Shadow... I stop talkin' to ya for a few days because I don't want da guys to tease us, and den you go for one of me best friends!?" He exclaimed.

"This is about _Blink?!"_ I said, surprised. Skittery held his hands out as if to say '_obviously! _' "First off, I never 'went after him'. He aksed me to go wit him to Medda's and I said yes. 'nd dat was _after_ you aksed Grace." I responded.

"I aksed Grace to go wit me when I hoid dat Blink aksed you!" Skittery argued. "Dat ain't true! I found out you was plannin' on goin wit her dat mornin', 'nd that's why I said yes to Blink." I explained. This was getting confusing.

Skittery shook his head. "Well den you got your facts wrong, because I wanted to go wit you until Blink beat me to it! Dat's why I left da lodgin' house so early before the show. So I could go see if Grace would come wit me! Oh, 'nd by the way it woulda been nice if I could heah it from _you_ dat you didn't like me instead of Snitch!" Skittery yelled.

It was silent again as Skittery stared at me, looking determined and angry. "But... I overhoid da guys sayin' dat you already aksed Grace..." I said finally in a small voice.

Skittery paused for a second. Then he sighed and slapped his forehead with his hand. "'nd you _believed 'em_, Shadow? Dey was just spreadin' rumors 'nd assumin' stuff... You know dose guys talk straight out of their asses..." He said. I laughed slightly, but then my expression faded back into seriousness.

"What do ya mean,...Snitch told ya I didn't like ya?" I asked. Skittery nodded slowly and his gaze went to the floor. "Look, Shadow... It's okay dat you don't...But I jus' wish you woulda told me 'bout it instead of him."

_When did I ever tell Snitch that I didn't like Skittery?_ I thought. I began to piece everything together. Then it clicked and I remembered the day we all met Grace.

_Blink put his hand on my shoulder. "It's a'right if you're mad, Shadow. I mean, if ya like Skittery and she's flirtin' wit him 'nd all den that's gotta make ya feel real-"_

_"It doesn't. Gretchen can flirt with him as much as she wants for all I care." I responded, cutting Blink off. "Grace." Mush muttered. We all looked up at him, puzzled. "Her names Grace." He repeated in a small voice._

_"Yeah, well... Whatever her name is. I don't care. And I definitely don't like Skittery." I told Blink. He opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him before he could. "And don't say nuttin' bout dis mornin' neither. It just looked like more than it was. It was a mistake, because I don't like him." I said, louder than I had expected to. A few other people started to look over in our direction. _

Then I remembered talking to Blink outside the bunk room because I wanted to apologize after I had snapped at him.

_I glanced into the bunkroom. Snitch was talking to Skittery about something, keeping his voice down. Although Skittery was listening, his eyes were on me. When I glanced at him he looked away._

So Snitch overheard me talking in Tibby's. I didn't mean what I said. I was just jealous and too stubborn to admit it. But Snitch figured I was serious, so he told Skittery.

I sighed and let my head drop against the chimney behind me. "Skittery... Forget what Snitch said. I was real jealous when I said dat, and it ain't true..."

He sighed but a smile crept across his face. "So lemme get dis straight." He said, taking a deep breath. "You saw me wit Grace, got upset 'nd told da guys ya didn't like me. Den you thought I asked Grace to Medda's show, which I didn't, so you said yes to Blink. After dat, I found out dat Blink asked you 'nd went with Grace. Den we both got angry, ignored each other as much as possible, and now we're heah. Does dat sound about right?" He asked.

I arched an eyebrow at him. "I think so. I'm not sure... I'se kinda confused..." I replied. Skittery laughed. "Me too...So let's make dis a little more simple."  
He took a step towards me. "I like ya, Shadow. A lot, a'right? So da question is... Do ya like me?" He asked. _It's no use denying it to myself or anyone else anymore..._ I nodded and looked up at him. "Yeah..." I replied.

He smiled and walked up to me, putting both his hands on either side of me against the chimney I was leaning on. Pinning me against the wall, he tilted his head down to look me directly in the eyes.

"'nd to think dis whole thing could have been avoided..." Skittery whispered, smiling. He tilted his head sideways and kissed me softly on lips. I closed my eyes, returning the kiss and placing my hands on his shoulders.

After about a minute he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against mine. "So can I finally call ya me goil?" He asked, taking my hands off his shoulders and lacing my fingers with his.

I didn't answer him. I just smiled and kissed him again, harder than before. "I don't understand women real well, but I think dat's a yes..." Skittery muttered against my lips.

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Eh, kinda short. Sorry. One more chapter left. I'll have it posted tomorrow.

Thanks for reading and please review if you can!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original characters from the Disney movie, "Newsies." The only character in this story that I claim ownership over is Shadow.

Hi there. I'm sorry about not getting this chapter out yesterday. I was really busy. But here it is now. It's kind of short, because it's pretty much just summing up everything that happens. Okay, here goes. last chapter.

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I sat upright in bed and looked around the room. "Dammit!" I muttered, realizing it was empty except for me. I threw my blankets off and stumbled out of bed.

10 minutes later I excited the washroom and grabbed some change off the dresser for my papes. I attempted to put my shoe on and run for the door at the same time. It resulted in me hopping directly into a wall.

Kloppman looked up from his desk as I jumped down the last three stairs. "What time is it!?" I asked frantically. "It's near 7. What are ya doin' heah, Shadow? I thought I woke ya up dis mornin'..."

"Ya did... but I guess I fell back asleep." I explained. Kloppman shrugged. "Well, ya better get a move on! C'mon, goil... Papes ain't gonna sell themselves."

I was out of breath by the time I reached the circulation stand. The guys had already bought their papes and were sitting on the steps next to the distribution desk. They were talking loudly and searching through their papers for good headlines.

"Heya guys..." I said, jogging over to them. "Look who decided to show up dis mornin'..." Race said, smirking. " Dats da last time we believe ya when ya say '5 more minutes.'" The guys laughed.

"He's right, ya know..." Cowboy chimed in. "Ya sleep like a rock...When Dutchy tried to wake ya up dis mornin', ya smacked him real hard in da head." Jack said, pointing over at Dutchy who was rubbing his forehead.

"Sorry Dutch... I don't remember doin' dat." I apologized, laughing. Someone hugged me from behind and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Heya, Shadow." Skittery said.

I smiled. "Mornin, Skitt." I said, turning around and giving him a peck on the lips. "Would da two of ya get a room?" Cowboy said, grinning. I shot him an angry look. "I thought ya would've gotten used to it by now." Skittery answered.

"Yeah, he's right, Jack. What's it been? Two weeks since you'se and Shadow been togedda'? Woah, da two of you are like an old married couple." Racetrack replied sarcastically.

"Hey... I wouldn't be talking if I was you, Race. You 'nd Anne seemed pretty cozy at Tibby's last night." Skittery said back, smirking. Anne was the girl Race had recently been dating. She was the one at Medda's that night who refused to go without her best friend. At first, Race thought that would be a problem because her best friend, Sophie, didn't seem too into Mush that night. As soon as Sophie met Blink, however, that wasn't a problem anymore.

I quickly bought some papes and all of us started heading towards the gates. "So ya actually gonna come to poker tonight at Conlon's, Shadow? Or ya gonna bail out on us like last time..." Jack teased. I shrugged. "Sure... But I gotta warn ya, I still don't really know how to play..."

"Oh! Dat reminds me, Jack. I ain't gonna be able to go tonight..." Mush said. "Why not?" Cowboy asked. "I-I got somethin' else planned..." he stuttered, looking down at the ground.

"Oh yeah! His date!" Racetrack said, grinning. "Race!!" Mush growled, blushing and smacking Race in the shoulder. That didn't stop Race, though. He kept going. "Mush scored himself a date wit dat waitress he's had his eye on for a while. Grace, right? Is dat her name?" The rest of the newsies laughed and congratulated Mush, whose face was still bright pink.

The newsies split up, yelling out their headlines while going in different directions towards their angles. Skittery laced his fingers with mine and we walked down the street, enjoying the beautiful summer morning.

I looked over at the vendors, setting up for the day. My eyes lingered on a particular man, in his 50's or so. I recognized him as the vendor I used to steal from when I lived out on the streets. Luckily, he didn't recognize me.

It made me think back to my old life, before the newsies took me in and I became one of them. It made me remember the conversations Skittery and I used to have on the roof, before we knew anything about each other. It also made me realize how much I had changed for the better over that summer.

"It's Kaitlin." I said, breaking the silence between the two of us. He looked over and raised his eyebrow at me. "What?" Skittery asked, unsure what I was talking about.

"When we first met, you used to ask me all the time who I was... That's my name. Kaitlin Harris." I said. Skittery smiled and stopped walking in the middle of the sidewalk, taking me in his arms. The crowded streets of New York City paid no attention to us. They just bustled around us, intent on getting where they needed to go.

He pulled me close to him and tilted his head down so he could look me in the eye. "Well, guess what, Kaitlin Harris?" He said. I smiled. "What?" I asked. He brought his face down close to mine so I could hear him over the sound of the city streets. Then he whispered, "I love you."

THE END.

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Yeah, I know. The ending was kinda mushy and cliche and whatever...

Anyway, thanks so much to the people who have read and reviewed throughout this story, especially: ktkakes, peculiarjuliar, ImaSupernaturalCSI, Pippa Kelly, Trignifty, -BeeVee-THEEAmazing, Anonnee-moose, Joker is Poker with a J, and NarniaRulz, who reviewed often and were very helpful.

Huge thanks to Miss Anderton, SantaFeDreamer, Dineburycass, The Pretender000, and Kutestar94 who also sent reviews.

I remember that, out of all the fanfictions I've written, I had the most fun writing this one and I hoped you guys had fun reading it. I'm working on another at the moment and, if I have some time, I should be able to post the first chapter tonight. Thanks again for reading!


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